What really happened behind the Wings
by Angel's blue eyed girl
Summary: Not really a lot to say here...This is basically my re-write to the Angel episode of "Waiting in the Wings" with Buffy in the lead role, rather than that...*bleep*...Cordelia. As always, in my fics there is a *SMUT WARNING*
1. Chapter 1

**What really happened behind the Wings. **

(My re-write of 'Waiting in the Wings" And…then some. :)

Pairing: Buffy/Angel

A fic by: Angel's blue eyed girl

Rating: Do I really need to answer that?? ;)

Disclaimer: Joss and Co. own them all and I'm just borrowing them to suit my inner demons!

Thank you to Red, who still loves me enough to beta for me—even if she does murder my children!! lol! :)

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**The Ahmanson Theatre: Los Angeles**

Buffy's eyes wandered as her Dad's business partners went into another diatribe about the Dow Jones and the struggling economy. It was beyond boring, and she was sick of listening to talk of stocks and bonds. She wished the intermission would end because she was actually enjoying the ballet Hank had taken her to for her birthday. It was 'Giselle' and Buffy understood the lead character's pain. She just wanted to have her happily ever after with the man she loved—Buffy could _so_ relate.

She sighed and gazed around the room again, searching for an excuse to get away from her father's group. Just then a shiver ran up her spine and her eyes darted around the room, on alert for a vampire. She scanned the crowd, but the feeling passed and she blew it off as nerves. She took a deep breath to calm the churning in her tummy. Truth was, she wanted to get out of L.A. as soon as possible. This town brought out emotions and memories that she didn't want to face or acknowledge. This was Angel's city and she didn't belong here—not anymore.

She stifled a yawn. Buffy tapped her father on the shoulder. "Dad, I'll be right back, "she said. He nodded and she rolled her eyes. He returned to his conversation before she'd even taken a step.

"Same old Dad—different year," she sighed, pushing her way through the throng of people crowding the lobby. "It'll never change. Why do I even bother? Look at how he treats Dawn…" Buffy grumbled as she made her way towards the ladies room. She was almost there when a certain tingling in her belly caused her to freeze and her mind went catatonic. Someone bumped into her and Buffy stumbled and clutched her purse tighter. Only Slayer coordination saved her from ending up on her face. But making a fool out of herself was the last thing on her mind as she turned and searched the crowd for a certain broad shouldered physique.

She KNEW that tingle—Angel was close by. No matter how much time passed, it never changed. The connection— even when she couldn't see him—she felt him, and though it scared her, the thought of not seeing him scared her even more. She scanned the room until her eyes landed on his familiar bulk. She swallowed hard, her eyes travelling over his well muscled body. He was even more handsome than she wanted to remember. He looked a bit more buff and her knees wobbled when he grinned at a member of his group. No one should be that sinfully gorgeous—it should be illegal.

"Angel," she breathed, clenching her fists as the oh-so-familiar knot began to form in her stomach. She tried to look away, but couldn't. Still so beautiful…she wanted to hate him. Why couldn't he have developed a huge blood belly or something?! And who was the brunette clinging to his arm?

She looked down at her hands. They were wrenching her small beaded purse into a twisted mess. "God, get a grip, Buffy. He doesn't even see you…" she muttered as she turned and headed away from him,. She was so desperate to put some distance between her ex-honey and the feelings he inspired, she failed to notice the dark eyes that followed her as she disappeared into the restroom.

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**Across the room:**

"Well, it's a puzzler," Cordelia said, turning Angel and putting his back to the lobby before he saw the tiny blond. Cordy couldn't believe Buffy was here. She was furious. It figures—the ONE night _she_ was shining, 'Little Miss Slays-A-Lot' would have to show up and rain on her parade. "Are there snacks?" she asked, batting her lashes at the dark vampire.

Angel noticed Cordy seemed to be more unfeeling than normal, but he didn't respond to it. His stomach was doing flip-flops and he wasn't sure why. He glanced over his shoulder—the feeling was coming from the lobby, but maybe it was because the troupe was supernatural. His belly clenched again… it was somehow familiar and it finally dawned on him …he pulled away from Cordelia and his eyes moved over the crowd in the lobby until he caught sight of a tiny blond figure in a light pink gown coming out of the ladies room.

"Buffy," he murmured as his eyes followed her across the lobby.

Cordy could have kicked him. "Buffy isn't here, Angel," she told him, gripping his arm and turning him to face her again. She flashed him her best smile, certain he'd obey her. "And if you're going to hallucinate…can you imagine something better, like maybe a full concession stand with a Starbucks attached?"

That might have worked had Wes not spotted the Slayer too. "No, he's right. That_ is_ Buffy." Wesley raised his hand. "Buffy," he called. Cordy's wrath-filled gaze was the first hint that he should have kept his mouth shut, but it wasn't until Buffy froze and turned wearing the identical 'deer in the headlight' look Angel was sporting that he realized how awkward this meeting might be.

Buffy groaned softly. They were all looking at her and when she realized who the brunette was, she felt sick. Was Angel on a date with Cordelia?! She closed her eyes and prayed a large hole would suddenly open and swallow her up. This was at best an extremely uncomfortable situation, at worst it could be another heartbreaking, gut-wrenching moment for her to shove deep into that place in her heart labeled, 'Buffy/Angel Baggage'.

But no hole opened and she was forced to acknowledge their presence. She gave a timid wave and walked over to Angel, Cordy and company. "Um…hey, Wes, how are you?" she asked, trying desperately not to go all school-girl and punch Cordelia in the eye, before kicking Angel in the shin. Her eyes wandered over her ex. Or maybe she'd just drool all over him. He _did_ look gorgeous in his tux and Buffy was having a hard time not ogling him. She'd only seen him dressed up like this once before. He looked as nummy now as he did in the well-worn memory of her prom.

Angel felt his stomach tighten with every step she took. Amazed that he'd forgotten how incredibly beautiful she was, his lower regions stirred and he discreetly adjusted his pants in an effort to ease his sudden discomfort.

Buffy looked at everyone else before her hazel eyes finally settled on him. "Angel…" she said in that breathless, questioning kind of way that always made him swallow hard. "How are you?"

He knew he was wearing what Cordy had called again and again his 'Buffy face', but he couldn't seem to do anything more than gape at her. "I-I'm…" he stuttered and cleared his throat, but Cordy interrupted him.

"He's fine," the Seer broke in, linking her arm through Angel's. His eyes flew to her face, then down to their joined arms, before scurrying back to Buffy. "What do you really want, Buffy?" Cordy asked with a brow raised and a catty look. "I mean, it's not like we've been burning up the phone lines, you know?"

Buffy's eyes widened at the possessive 'we' and took a step back at the venom in Cordelia's tone. "Want…?" She shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't _want _anything. _You _called me over here, remember?"

Cordy's dark eyes landed on Wesley. "I didn't, but some dumbass, who will remain unnamed, obviously forgot the trauma that is you and Angel and couldn't keep his mouth shut."

Wes looked down, torn between fury and humiliation, and Buffy felt her face blaze with color as the tall black guy and the slender girl at his side studied her like she was a bug under a microscope.

"Now, that's the one who died last year, right? The one he went off to mourn for?" Fred whispered out the side of her mouth to Gunn.

He nodded imperceptibly. "Yeah, I'm guessin' that's the Slayer and I can see why he mourned. Damned she's—" He saw Fred's face fall a bit and he smiled widely, "Beautiful, but not half as pretty as you are."

Fred blushed and ducked her head, but she grinned as she raised her sparkling brown eyes to meet his. "Oh, now come on—you're just sayin' that." Her eyes roamed Buffy, noticing the way the pink strapless dress hugged her curvy body. "She's…wow. I can see why Angel still loves her. She has—" Fred noticed the look of open longing on both Angel and his Slayer's face for a second as their eyes met for a heartbeat, before looking away. "Kyrumption," she whispered.

"Huh?" Gunn asked.

In that moment, Fred realized how wrong she and Lorne had been about Cordelia and Angel. That look that he'd just shared with Buffy… Fred realized she'd never seen Angel look at_ anyone_ like that. "Nothing," she said quietly. "I just realized sometimes things look one way when they're really another, is all."

Gunn gave her a puzzled frown, but didn't push for an explanation. Fred was still a mystery to him sometimes—one he was eager to solve. "Well, I'm thinkin' this might look like a cat-fight—I'm hopin' you're sayin' I'm wrong."

Cordy was winding up for another diatribe when Angel pulled his arm out of her grasp and stepped forward "It's good to see you…" he said to the Slayer. "And actually…um…right on time too." He took her elbow. "This is my crew. That's Gunn and this is Fred," he said.

Buffy smiled. "Nice to meet you. Any friends of Angel's…"

"Is a friend of yours?" Gunn said with a wink.

Buffy liked him immediately. She laughed huskily. "Not always, but in this case—something like that."

"I heard about you." He gave Angel a wink. "Heard you kicked his ass back in the day too. Is that true?"

Buffy smiled nervously. THAT was something she really didn't want to talk about. It still gave her nightmares. "Kind of…" She shrugged. "But it was a long time ago and…complicated," she said, looking at Angel and wondering what else he'd divulged about their past to his crew.

Fred smiled at her with genuine warmth. "So, what'cha doin' here? Are you working on a case? Are there vampires here? I mean…besides Angel?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, I'm not actually on duty—just here with my dad for my—"

"Birthday," Angel supplied and Buffy's eyes flew to his.

"Yeah, for that," she said, surprised he remembered.

"What happened to the Ice Capades?" he asked, shocking her even further.

Buffy swallowed. "The ballet seemed…more mature, I guess."

Angel nodded and Buffy knew she had to get out of there. Her feelings for him were still too deep, raw and confusing. "Well, at least there's no end of the world kind of thing this time, so maybe we'll get to see the end of 'Giselle', huh?" she quipped, but when Angel looked away, her stomach dropped and she sighed. "Or is there?"

Angel shrugged. "Not end of the world, just a supernatural thing…"

Fred interrupted. "Yeah, it seems Angel's seen this show before and by before, I mean like way-way before…like in 1890 when he was, I guess, this evil guy, Angelus, and you know, since you're the one who defeated Angelus, right? It's kind of amazing to see you here when we have a thing, don't you think?" Fred didn't wait for an answer and kept rambling, and Cordelia practically blew smoke out of her ears, she was so furious. Fred smiled at Buffy again. "I've heard a lot about you and I'm glad to see you're back from the—well, wherever you were and…" She frowned when noticed everyone staring at her open mouthed. "I think I'll just be quiet now, but it was nice to meet'cha."

Buffy tried not to cringe during Fred's monologue, but she knew by the look in Angel's eyes she'd failed. She hated that worried look he wore now as much as she hated how wrong she'd felt since she'd been back. "Yeah, I'm…uh…happy to meet you too."

"So you're the love of his life AND the Slayer, huh?" Gunn asked. Cordy rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. Buffy flushed and admitted she was indeed the Slayer—the 'love of his life' comment she avoided like the plague.

Gunn looked her up and down. "You look tight, but I thought you'd be bigger."

For the first time, Buffy laughed easily. "I get that a lot," she said and before she could help it, her eyes met Angel's and they both remembered that first meeting in an alley in Sunnydale.

Buffy clenched her fists and looked away. "I'm stronger than I look," she said finally.

A genuine smile came to Angel's face too as he agreed. "Definitely," he said and all eyes turned to him. "What? She is. She kicked my ass to hell," he said and could have kicked himself when Buffy clutched her purse so tightly, he thought she might tear it apart. "But then she brought me back," he said, giving Buffy a tiny grin. "You did, you know," he added, gently.

His words melted some of the ice around her heart and Buffy couldn't help but return his look with a grin of her own, but Cordy's derisive snort dimmed their smiles drastically. To their embarrassment the seer proceeded to give everyone the rundown on how Buffy sent Angel to hell once.

Wes coughed. "Not to break up this trip down memory lane, but we still have the problem of just who or what is dancing in this performance, remember?"

Angel and Buffy turned to him, obviously relieved to NOT be talking about Angelus and Sunnydale anymore.

"Wes is right," Angel said.

"So what are we thinking…vampires?" Gunn said.

Buffy frowned. "Can't be vampires, I'd feel it."

Angel agreed. "She's right. They're not vampires. I'd sense it too."

"Well, they're not a deeply tanned bunch—maybe your feelers are off," Cordelia sneered, her eyes raking Buffy.

Gunn smiled. "Well, if they were, it would explain the precision and athleticism. I mean some of them jumps were…"He trailed off as everyone stared at him. "You know, I was cool before I met you all."

Buffy giggled. "You're still cool. I was shocked that I liked it too, and I'm the Slayer—with a title like that…I have to be cool, right?" she whispered.

Gunn immediately decided he liked her and Angel wished he'd brought Buffy to the ballet instead of Cordy, who'd drooled on his jacket and snored throughout the entire performance.

Cordelia didn't like the look Angel was giving the tiny blond and grabbed his arm. "Okay, so we have dancing demons or something supernatural here—who's not scared? I say we go check it out." She clutched Angel tighter, digging her nails into his jacket.

"Maybe after the show we should head backstage?" Fred said, looking from Cordy to Buffy, who looked like she wanted to throw up watching her ex-honey being man-handled by her ex-nemesis.

Wes nodded. "Yes, we should, but I was thinking now would be better." He turned to Angel. "Maybe we should split into teams?"

Angel quietly extricated himself from Cordy's grasp. "Good idea, Wes. Buffy and I'll go snoop around the dressing rooms while you guys see if you can find out anything backstage."

Cordy gritted her teeth. "You really think that's a good plan?" She crossed her arms and gave Angel a withering stare that usually backed him down. "The two of you…? Going off alone together?" She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like that's going to end well!"

Buffy wanted to smack the smirk right off Cordy's face. The woman's possessiveness was a blatant reminder that she, Buffy, was no longer a part of his life. It also brought home how important the brunette had become to him. Buffy looked away and wished again that the floor might open up and swallow her whole.

Angel was furious at his friend. Usually he could handle her barbed words and catty remarks, but this time they were hurting Buffy and that he couldn't—wouldn't—take. "Yeah, it's a good plan," he told the brunette, shrugging her off. "If these things_ are_ demons, then we're the best ones to handle them." He raised a brow. "What would you do? Vision them to death?"

Everyone gaped. Angel usually let Cordy have her way, so this sudden aggressive attitude was a shock.

It took Cordy a minute to recover but she came out swinging. "No, but what if you and Miss Saves-the –World' decide to get groiny? Then who'll save us from you?" She tapped her foot and gave Angel the full force of her disapproving glare. "I can fight, Angel. You taught me, remember?" When he just stared, she nodded as if the argument was over. "So you and me will go together and Buffy can go with—"

"No," Angel growled. "Buffy goes with me."

Cordy looked like she was going to scream—or worse. Wes, Fred and Gunn stared open-jawed at Angel.

Buffy spoke up, trying to diffuse the brewing fight. "Cordelia, it's not an insult to you. I mean, really…even if he spent the last three years training you, you'll never be able to fight like me. I'm the Slayer—you're not." She didn't say it as an insult. Her voice was matter-of-fact, like she was stating the weather, and much to Cordy's displeasure, no one disputed her statement. Buffy waited, hoping Angel wouldn't change his mind and side with Cordy now, but even if he did, Buffy had the ex-cheerleader beat hands down. No one could slay like she could, so her and Angel as a team really was the logical choice. She tried to convince herself she didn't care, but breathed a sigh of relief when Angel didn't just agree, he insisted.

"She's right. She's the Slayer and it's been a while, but Buffy and I fight well together." Angel glanced at Wes. "We'll take backstage." Cordelia started to say something, but he held up his hand. "Cordy, I'm not going to argue with you anymore...let it go, will you?"

Wes wanted to get out of this uncomfortable situation, and while he saw Cordelia's point, he had to agree with Buffy and Angel. If these things were evil, they stood the best chance of defeating them.

Decision made, he squared his shoulders. "Cordy, you and Gunn will take the right side—" He shook his head when the Seer's mouth opened wide to refute that order. "Cordelia, please…let's not bring past jealousy into this discussion. Buffy and Angel are preternatural…_you_ are not!"

The brunette's mouth closed with a snap, and she glared at Wesley. "Fine, but don't blame me if they get 'happy' and the world as we know it turns to crap!" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

Wesley ran a hand over his face. "Very well, I won't..." He glanced at Angel and Buffy. "Can you get to the dressing rooms?" Angel nodded, but Wes was skeptical. "Getting backstage and getting to the dressing rooms of the performers are two entirely different things, Angel."

Angel looked at Buffy. As if drawn by an invisible string, they moved closer together. "We'll manage," Buffy said and Wes nodded, confident if anyone could, they would, even if it meant a trail of unconscious bodies. "Fine, then Fred and I will explore the left side of the stage."

Buffy raised a brow at Wes' new attitude, but didn't comment. The Wesley she remembered was a total moron who tended to cry like a girl when the shit hit the fan, but it looked like he'd changed for the better while working with Angel. She nodded and gave him the respect he'd earned. "Okay, so let's meet back here in say, an hour?"

Cordy glared, but Buffy ignored her. She focused on Wes, since he seemed to be in charge—WHY still puzzled her, considering this was 'Angel Investigations', but she hadn't been a part of Angel's life in a long time. She would ask him about it later.

"Very good," Wes agreed. "One hour and we meet back here."

Angel tried to ignore the tightening in his belly as he and Buffy headed away from the group to be alone together for the first time since she'd came back from the dead….

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**Okay guys, with all the Angelus fics I am and have been doing…I really needed some Angel-ness and since musie won't cooperate and give me anything for Wish and SC's—we had a meeting of the minds and came up with this. Hope you like it. Click the button and tell me what you think, kay?**


	2. Chapter 2

**What really happened behind the Wings**

Disclaimer**: That would be a no with owning them, but I really like to play with him...ahem...I mean them. ;)**

Rating**: Please...like Jenna writes anything, but smut. ;) ;)**

A/N**: to Red, my beta...you're awesome sweetie. Thank you for always taking the time to make a fics a better plece to be.**

**Also, I'd like to give a shout to Taz. jeez, chica...FINALLY! I got to tell you, it was so cool to hear from you. I missed you! **

**A/N 2: Now, I like to give give another shout out to a new writer I've found... frosty 600 is a tremendous talent that I've recently become addicted to! *lol* Seriously, she has some great fics out there. Her Buffy/Angelus fics are amazing. Also, I want to especially pump Esmerada007's fic 'Forbidden Love'. it reads just like the show you guys, and she's really doing a great job with it. Check it out and R&R, if you would. Of course Helmi1 has some AWESOME fics too as most of you know... 'Ghosts of the Past' and 'Just One Night'. If you've missed them, read em. She's a terrific talent.**

**My other girls like Vixangel, and Brandi Rochon have already been 'pimped out by me' as some like to say...*lmao* I giggle every time I hear that, but I still want to pimp em again... *lol* Seriously though, these women are amazingly talented. If you haven't read their fics...you're missing out! 'Broken' and 'Vampire Fairytale' are both great reads.**

**Okay, enuff with my talking...on with the show, huh?**

**xoxo**

**Jen**

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**Chapter 2**

**Backstage:**

Angel and Buffy made their way to the door leading backstage and the dressing rooms.

"Uh-oh," Buffy said. The guy blocking the door looked like he just stepped off the pages of Ugliest Wrestlers Ever magazine. She sighed. "This isn't going to be as easy as we thought."

"That's an awful lot of muscle for a ballet company, don't you think?"

Buffy nodded. "Well, I could try and distract him…" She did her best impersonation of a flirt. "You know, I make with the nice while you slip by."

Angel snorted. "Right…don't be stupid," he said, looking Buffy up and down. "If I'm _that_ guy and the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on is making eyes at me—it's either a bachelor party or a scam."

Buffy's breath stopped. "What did you say?"

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean that you were stupid."

Buffy shook her head. "No, before that—what did you call me?"

Angel's throat closed up and he got that 'wide eyed' look. His gaze flitted everywhere before coming back to her upturned face. "I said you were the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on."

Buffy's knees sagged and she had to clutch Angel's arm. How long had she waited to hear him say something like that to her again? Much too long, and now it almost hurt to hear it. Her lip trembled and it took every bit of courage she possessed not to run from what might turn into another angst-filled Angel/Buffy moment.

"You still…see me…like that?" she asked, blinking rapidly to keep her tears at bay.

"Always," he murmured, unable to look away from her haunted green gaze.

She swallowed hard, and looked away first. "O-kay…I think that's a conversation better saved till after we solve the mystery, don't you?"

Disappointed, but realizing the wisdom in her words, Angel agreed.

Buffy looked at the guard again. "So, any ideas on how we get past King Kong?"

Angel shrugged. "Well, I suggest we go with my patented sudden burst of violence."

She rolled her eyes. "Not everything has to be solved with violence, you know."

"This coming from the girl who carries stakes under her evening gown?" he said with a smirk.

Buffy giggled. "Still…I might have an approach that will be a little more subtle," she said. Digging into her beaded purse, her lips twitched as she pushed aside the stake hidden there and produced a folded bill. "Aha…this should do."

She approached the man, hips swinging. "Hey—you know I really wanna get backstage…" she said waving the bill in front of his face. "And I was thinking…" She slipped the fifty dollar bill into his hand. "Maybe you could help me with that, hmmm?" She flashed the man a radiant smile that left Angel weak in the knees.

The guard took the money, pocketed it, then grabbed Buffy around the waist and leered down at her. "Yeah, okay, but since that wasn't so much a bribe as it was a tip…" his hand reached for her breast, "I'm thinking there's something else you got that'd be worth—"

Angel knocked him out before Buffy could react. She gave him a rueful grin. "_And _then there's those times when violence is exactly what's needed…" she said, adjusting her dress and glaring at the unconscious guard.

Buffy went to step over the guard, but stopped when she noticed Angel hadn't taken his eyes off the man.

"What's wrong?' she asked.

He continued to stare at the huge lump of unconscious human, fists clenched as he forced himself not to beat the living hell out of the asshole. "He's just lucky he didn't actually—"

"What?" Buffy asked, her heart stuttering at the raw, primal jealousy on Angel's face. "He's lucky he didn't what, Angel?" she prompted when he remained silent.

"Touch you," he growled. "I'd have killed him if he had!"

Buffy's breath came out in a gasp. "Why?"

"Do you really need to ask?" he snapped and took her arm, dragging her along as he stepped over the guard and headed through the doorway.

Buffy dug her heels in and pulled her arm from his grasp, forcing him to stop too. "Yeah, I really do. Why?"

"Because I—" He stopped, let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "This isn't the time for this conversation." He looked back to where they'd just come and stared at what was now a long endless hallway with no end in sight. His brows drew down and he frowned. "Wasn't there a door there?"

That got her attention and she turned in a circle. The doorway they had just come through had disappeared, and now there was nothing but endless corridors. "Okay, when you pulled up here tonight—did this building look like it went on forever?"

Angel glanced down the halls. "It's gotta be a spell or maybe a time flux or something…"

Buffy started towards the rooms and Angel grabbed her arm. "Why are you stopping me? We seriously need to find out what's going on," she said, trying to pull free.

He shook his head and held her tighter. "Sounds good in theory, but I don't think we want to be rushing in there. Can't you feel the magic in this place?"

With a burst of Slayer strength, she shrugged him off. "Yeah, I do, but getting to the bottom of this is the only way we're going to get out of here, so I'm not seeing much of a choice here."

"Why am I thinking this could go really bad?" he muttered ender his breat as he reluctantly followed her..

After wandering around for a long time, Buffy stopped at a door. "This is her dressing room," she said, touching the smooth wooden panel.

"Whose?" Angel asked as the hairs on his neck started to prickle. The magic was all around them and it was making him nervous.

"The prima ballerina," Buffy replied, opening the door.

They both shivered as they walked in and Angel looked around at the nineteenth century furnishings. "It's unchanged," he whispered, as a strange heat swept over him.

Buffy felt the heat too. Like a fever, it burned through her. She lifted her hair and waved the back of her neck as she moved around the room. "She'd wait for him here."

Angel narrowed his eyes. "She—how do you—?" The room was like a sauna. "Is it warm in here to you?" he asked. A trickle of sweat ran down his brow and he wiped it away, gazing at it strangely—he never sweated unless he was fighting or…better not go there.

Buffy's breath was coming in rapid little pants. "Yeah, I feel it…it's way too hot and—" She stopped as she touched a dried up rose on the ballerina's dresser. "Some thing happened here," she whispered and turned to him. "Angel?" Her voice was low and husky, more like a moan.

He stopped and shuddered as fire seemed to scorch his dead nerve endings, making him feel alive again. "What?" he whispered, his belly tightening at the look in her eyes. He swallowed hard.

"Undress me," she said and Angel almost groaned out loud. Two little words, but the consequences…

"Buffy no, I—why?!"

She took a step towards him, chest heaving, eyes dilated and dark green with desire. "Because this is just a costume—it isn't me." She reached for him. "I want you to see me—see me for who I really am."

Angel almost tripped over his own feet in his haste to get away from her. "No, I—Buffy, stop. This isn't us. Someone is pulling the strings here and what we're doing is acting out someone else's drama."

Suddenly the heat and the fog lifted and Buffy gasped and staggered back. "Oh my God, did I just ask you to undress me?"

Angel felt it sweep him up then and was helpless to stop it. "Is that what you want?" he asked, advancing on her.

She stepped forward to meet him, shuddering as her own longing for Angel became meshed with the longing of the ghost haunting this room. "You know I do," she whispered.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her to him.. "But you're afraid," he said, running his knuckle along her cheek.

She gripped his biceps and pressed her face into his hand. "I don't want to be—I want to love you like I used to—what if he finds us," she said, her own feelings for Angel blending with the ghost's need for her lost love.

Angel placed her hand on his chest, while his other hand slid down to cup her rear and pressed her intimately against the hard bulge in his pants. "I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of anything."

Buffy braced her hands on his chest and pushed back. "What about the curse?"

He groaned and lowered his mouth. "It won't affect us here…"

The spirit fluttered inside her as she explored Angel's firm, muscled chest. She flipped open a few buttons and slipped her hands inside his shirt, savoring the smooth flesh she found there. "Oh, God," she gasped, as her long-suppressed need for him flared in a kaleidoscope of colors and sensations all around them. On tiptoe, she wrapped her arms around his neck and met his kiss eagerly. "I need you—I'm only alive when you're inside me…" she murmured against his mouth.

Angel gave a deep growl and nibbled at her lips. "Buffy…" he groaned, right before he took her lips in a deep, possessive kiss.

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Wes and Fred met Cordelia and Gunn at the backstage door that Angel and Buffy had gone through.

"Did you see anything in the wings?" Wesley asked.

"Just the dancers as they twinkled their toes off the stage and then disappeared," Cordy grumbled, still ticked that Wes had foiled her plan to get Angel alone.

Gunn nodded. "It was weird. They danced off stage and then 'poof'—gone," he said, frowning.

Fred sighed. "Well, that's a lot more than we saw. So what do you think is going on here? Are they ghosts? And where's Buffy and Angel? They've been gone a long time."

Cordy rolled her eyes. "Great ghosts. Am I the only one thinking we should have just stayed home?"

"Cordelia, please—" Wes started, but she cut him off.

"No, you please…" she snapped. "You weren't there when Angelus came back. You may have met him for a second a couple of years ago, but you didn't see what he's capable of, obviously, since you felt comfortable stepping in and sending Angel off with the one person on this planet who can bring him back! And not just for a few hours, Wes." She poked him in the chest. "I mean, like for good, so don't you dare '_please_' me, pal. You thought Angel was bad with Darla?" She snorted. "You haven't seen nothing yet. Buffy makes Darla look like a crush and Angelus makes 'dark Angel' look like a choir-boy! If we end up running for our lives tonight…it's all your fault, remember that!"

Uncomfortable now, Wes cleared his throat. "Well, then I suggest we go and find them."

"Ya think?" Cordy growled and marched past him towards the dressing room entrance. She pointed to the downed guard. "I think it's safe to say they went this way."

Trying to lighten the mood, Gunn shrugged and quipped, "At least they left us a trail…"

Cordy nodded. "And he's not dead, so it's safe to say Angel's still Angel."

Fred wrung her hands. "On a scale of one to ten—how bad is this Angelus?"

"An eleven," Cordy said, and opened the door that led to the endless maze of hallways.

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Buffy moaned as Angel's tongue swept into her mouth. She whimpered as he palmed her breasts. His hands went higher and they both gasped as he jumped back, burned by the cross she wore.

"Ah, oh my God…Buffy," he gasped. "I'm sorry…"

Buffy shook her head. "No need. It was a mutual thing, but_ we_ really need to get out of here."

"I know," he said, but instead of moving away, he moved closer.

Buffy felt the same tug and let him draw her back into his arms. "Angel…" she panted as he trailed wet kisses down her neck. "This isn't out of here."

Angel turned her so her back was to him, but that was even worse. Her curvy little rear rubbed his erection. "Right—I can't…sorry. Okay—out. We need to get out." He started pushing her towards the door from behin

Buffy reached over her head to wrap her hands around Angel's neck and thread her fingers through the short hairs at his nape. "God, you feel so good…" she panted, arching and rubbing her rear-end against the bulge that was poking her from behind. They paused by the door. Shudders ran through her as he placed another kiss on her neck. "Can you open the damned door?" she moaned, letting her chin fall towards her chest, exposing more of her neck to him as he began to trail wet, open mouthed kisses along her throat to his mark.

"It's kinda hard," he gritted out, his hand palming her belly and pulling her back against him as he tried to turn the handle. It wouldn't budge.

"Mmmmm…" Buffy moaned, arching back even more, and blatantly inviting him to continue his onslaught.. "Kinda noticed,"she murmured huskily.

Still nibbling at his mark, Angel was struggling to keep his demon in check as he fnally got the door opened. They fell out of the room, panting, filled with lust and trying to shake off the magic surrounding them.

Buffy took a deep breath. "Okay, that was—whoa!"

Angel exhaled too. "That's a fair assessment."

She looked at him. "What happened in there?"

"There's spirits in that room. Energy trapped in time." He buttoned his shirt, and fumbled with his tie for a minute before giving up and sticking it in his pocket. "They took us over."

Flushed and achy, Buffy's lips were still tingling from his kisses She eyed Angel's body and the electric current of desire raced through her again. "When is it gonna wear off?"

He backed away from her as her eyes wandered his body. "I-I don't know," he said, removing his jacket and folding it over his arm so it would hide the bulge in the front of his trousers. "Soon, I think--hope…" he whispered to himself, as he closed his eyes briefly, and tried to will his hard-on away—it didn't work.

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The rest of the AI gang wandered the corridors, searching for Angel and Buffy—or any sign of what was really going on with the show.

They opened a door and standing inside was a man wearing a 'Tragedy' mask. He giggled and ran past them, almost knocking Cordy over.

"Okay—that was rude!" she called after him.

Gunn looked at Wes. "What the hell was that?"

Wes shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I suggest we find Angel and Buffy and see if they've learned anything."

Just then another man in a 'Comedy' mask leaped out at them. Fred gasped and stumbled back as he grabbed at her. The man had a sword in his hand and Gunn ducked his first swing, then spun and kicked the sword out of his hand. It skittered across the floor and Wesley picked it up and stabbed the minion in the chest when he attacked again.

"Well, who's laughing now?" he said, pulling the sword out. The creature fell to the floor, clutching his chest. He still wore the grotesque 'laughing clown' mask and when he let out a weak laugh, Wes grimaced. "Well…you—but I still win," he muttered and decapitated the minion.

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Buffy was tired of trekking the halls. "Are you sure this is the way?" she asked.

He looked over his shoulder at her. "I'm sure it's _A_ _way_, Buffy, but _THE _way—no, I'm not sure. Never been here before either, remember?"

She grimaced. Being this close to Angel—especially after what just happened—made her edgy and anxious. Her lips hadn't stopped tingling and all she could think of was how much she wanted a replay of that scene all over again—maybe even go into act two.

"God, this place is a maze, isn't it?' she asked, for lack of anything better to say.

He nodded. "Maybe we can go—"

"Wait!" Buffy said, grabbing Angel's arm.

Alarmed, he looked behind him, but the coast was clear. He turned back to her with a puzzled frown."What?"

"I said something—back there in that room. I think it might be a clue." Her brow creased as she tried to remember. "Do you remember what I said?"

Angel's mouth watered. She was so sexy, all mussed up and well-kissed. He swallowed. "Um…you said you were only alive when I was—"

Buffy blushed. "Not that!"

Angel looked just as embarrassed. "No, of course…I-I was just—" Suddenly he nodded. "Wait. I said you were afraid, remember? And you said…"

"What if he finds out," Buffy supplied.

Angel's eyes lit up. "She had a secret lover and she was afraid she might get caught."

Buffy agreed. "I thought at the time it was…" She shrugged. "You know, still stuff from my…you and me baggage, but it wasn't…it was the ghosts."

"You and me baggage?"

Her answer was an eye roll that spoke volumes. Angel turned away and Buffy looked back the way they had come. "We left too soon. We need to go back so we can find out what happened to them."

Angel's head whipped back around and his jaw dropped. "I'm marveling at the complete wrongness in that idea, Buffy."

"But it's the only way. Those spirits'—energy or whatever…are still in there. If we don't go back, we may never know what happened." She straightened her shoulders. "We need to finish the scene," she said and tried to ignore the shiver of heat that raced down her spine.

Angel stared at her open-mouthed. "What if there's no more talking in that scene?" he asked, fighting the insane urge to giggle. This was SO wrong.

Buffy tried to ignore the thrill that statement sent chasing after the shiver. She wasn't wishing for that—she _wasn't_! "Well, what do you suggest then? Do you want to keep wandering around back here for like…" she shrugged, "ever?"

Angel shook his head. "No, but…"His eyes were dark as he caught and held her gaze. "Look Buffy, we've been possessed by the spirits of old lovers before—it never ends well, you know that."

"The last time we played the scene to the end and it worked out—the spirits were gone, remember?"

His jaw dropped again. "Yeah, after you shot me!"

She flushed with guilt. "But you didn't die!""

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't die because I'm a vampire. Not from your lack of shooting skills."

Buffy looked away. He was right, but…. "If we don't go back, how else are we going to find out what happened?"

Angel had no answer to that. He rubbed his forehead with the heel of his palm. "Buffy…" he whined. "Think about what we're doing here—what almost happened back there, and ask yourself , should we really go back in there?"

Her heart rate was already accelerating at the thought of kissing him again, but she put on her best Slayer face and tried to make this all about taking care of business. "Hey, if things go bad, we can always leave. We did before and it's not us…I mean it IS us, but not _us_-us."

Angel wavered. He wanted to touch her again so badly… "No, it_ is_ us, Buffy. It you…and it's me. Kissing you…" He sighed, and his eyes were filled with a longing so poignant, Buffy's breath caught. "It's just not something I can turn off. I still want to lose myself in you and that scares me."

A slow, insidious heat spread through her tummy and she licked her lips at the desire in his eyes. Certain her own eyes mirrored his, she really didn't see any other way to find out what was happening here, besides going back into that room. "I know. I feel it to, but as long as nothing is undone or—inserted…we should be okay, right?" She fought the dull throb between her thighs. "And I still have this in case things _do_ get out of hand," she said, holding up her cross.

Angel's gut churned at how wrong this could go, but he was helpless to deny her because honestly he wanted nothing more than to get back in that room and finish what they'd started there.

"Okay," he said. "But if things get…_out of hand,_ I just hope one of us has the presence of mind to stop me before—" He didn't finish the sentence, but Buffy knew what he meant. Before anything happened that might make him too happy.

That thought froze her in her tracks, but she reminded herself that it wasn't just her and Angel in that room. The spirits of old lovers would be there too, almost as a buffer against 'perfect happiness' and Angelus. She wasn't sure how she knew this, but she just did. She opened the door and immediately the heat wrapped around her…inside her. A shudder ran up her spine and suddenly Buffy didn't care about anything but touching him. If she couldn't actually have Angel in her life, she could create another memory of him that would keep the cold inside her soul at bay…at least for a while.

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**Okay guys, musie is really on fire for this fic. I've just about finished it already... *gasp* huh?? I know. Shocking, but honsetly, I've already sent two more chappies to red, so as soon a she gets em back to me, I'll be posting them. Honestly, I think I'll be posting on this one pretty quickly. Since I'm about finished with it, all that's left is beta and polishing...Hope you like it, I've always wanted to fix this episode, sice I detest Cordy/Angel, so this is almost theraputic for me. lol! Click the button and let me know what you think, okay?**

**Thanks again. You all are the best... :) :) :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"**What really happened behind the Wings"**

**Rating: M**

**Pairing: Buffy/Angel**

**Disclaimer: Joss owns them all, I own nothing. :(**

**A/N: Thank you to Red for beta reading this and to each and every one of you who R&R. It inspires musie and me to write more. Thanks to jay for the shout out on his fic and to Vix, Brandi, Helmi 1, JennCvice, Chynafox, Esmerada007, frosty600, Kay8abc, Rox and any other author who has "pimped" my fics in their A/N's. Thank you. We all need to do that for each other because as we know we LIVE for feedback! :)**

**Oh, btw: Seeley's angel has finally updated "Prayer of Innocence" it's a fic on the 'Bones' site of FF. I know some of you have read it and if you haven't you should. It's amazingly good, so you guys should check it out. OH and I have a total NEW addiction. jaymartinez has a fic called "Greatest Twist of All" and let me say, it's awesome! I mean like as addicting as crack people. lol!! Seriously though, I just got done reading all 10 chappies and I couldn't put it down. If you haven't read it, you should really, really check it out, you won't be disappointed!**

**Okay, on with the chappie.**

**xoxo**

**Jen**

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**Chappie 3**

The room was the same as they left it, only this time the tension was thick as they waited for 'something' to happen. Buffy avoided his eyes and Angel awkwardly tried to find something to do with his hands besides touch Buffy.

Finally he couldn't stand it anymore. "Anything coming?" he asked.

"Not yet. Well, at least nothing that's not the normal Angel tension."

"Angel tension?" He told his body to move away from her, but his feet refused to listen and stepped closer instead. "What is Angel tension?" he whispered.

Buffy swallowed hard. "That tingle in my belly and the way my heart pounds when you're near me."

"Buffy…" he groaned and before he could stop himself he pulled her to him. He lowered his head to kiss her, but she turned her head away.

"This is wrong," she murmured. "Stephan we can't."

Angel's brows drew down. "Stephan?" Then he felt it—a simmering heat raced up his spine and settled over him. "Hush," he murmured, tilting her chin up. "There's nothing wrong about us."

She placed her palms flat on his chest to push him away, but ended up petting the hard muscle she found there instead. "But you don't know him. He has powers—"

He tipped her chin up. "Does he have the power to do this?" He slid his hand over the curve of her ass and she shivered. "Can he make you feel what I do?" he asked, cupping her cheek.

She shook her head. "No. No one makes me feel what you do." Her breathing was becoming more ragged with every touch.

Somewhere in the back of Angel's mind, he wondered, was he acting out a role anymore or reliving his own relationship with Buffy?

"Come away with me. Tonight." He lowered her to the settee and followed her down, lying on top of her. He braced himself on his forearms and placed kisses along the side of her face and down her neck. "We can go somewhere where even _he_ won't find us."

Buffy ran her hands along the corded muscles of Angel's belly and chest, before sliding them up and caressing his face. She traced his sculpted cheekbones, before burying her fingers in his silky hair. He was so incredibly beautiful. "Angel," she said, her own need for him overshadowing the spirit's control of her body. Her thumb moved along the smooth curve of his full lips as the incredible heat went deeper and she was once again the ballerina. "I want to…I do, but you don't understand. Kurskov—he's like an obsessed fan. He thinks I'm his."

"You're mine," he growled. "I don't care about Kurskov—you'll always be mine!" His mouth took possession of hers and they kissed like two people who'd been starved—and in a way they were. Starved for the taste of each other, that is.

When they broke apart, Angel was panting with rising lust. "He doesn't own you," he said hoarsely. "No one owns you."

"But he thinks he does. He thinks I dance for him…" She grimaced. "He thinks I love him."

"But you don't—you love me. You always have."

Buffy's mossy green eyes filled with tears. "Yeah, I always have and I think I always will…"

With a growl Angel lowered his head and kissed her. "Then come away with me. Leave him and his madness behind."

"But I'm afraid…"

"Don't be. I'm here. I've always been here—even when you didn't know I was. I was here. I love you."

In that instant the world tilted and Buffy felt like herself again. No ghosts, just a girl in love with the guy she'd loved since she was sixteen. "Help me, Angel. Help me to be me again."

It was his undoing and with a low groan he gave in. "How?" His hands framed her beloved face as he searched her features for an answer. "What can I do?"

"Just love me," she said simply. "Just make me feel again. I'm so tired of being cold."

He knew what cold was, and he never wanted Buffy to feel that kind of emptiness. He saw it in her now and it scared him. He recognized the dark. It was so lonely. A yawning abyss in the pit of her soul that threatened to swallow her whole and it broke his heart…this_ isn't_ what he'd left her for.

"You're not alone," he breathed against her mouth. "I'm here and I do love you. Always have." He kissed her and Buffy whimpered and opened to him, kissing him back with all the passion she'd had bottled up inside her for the last four years. The spirits were suddenly exposed to the naked passion that was Buffy and Angel.

The ballerina wanted to cry at their pain. She could feel the love and loss that these two had suffered…it was as tragic as her own love, maybe more so.

The spirits hovered over the couple who were lost in each other, shedding clothes as their bodies undulated in a frenzied mating dance.

"Stephan, we can help them…"

"Yes and we can end this at the same time. These two are warriors—they will stop Kurskov."

"They are afraid. This one keeps thinking about a curse," the ballerina said, indicating Buffy.

"Him too, and…he has a demon in him. A dark demon. I can feel the power, lust and anger simmering just under the surface…like he's waiting."

"What can we do?"

"We wait and at the right moment…we help them break free from this curse. They'll help us…I can feel it." He ached to touch her but in this form his hand would go right through her. "Do you trust me?"

"Always," she replied.

"Then we wait, and when I tell you—we will resume our roles in this affair." She looked uneasy and he wished he could hold her, but he'd have to let his eyes tell her what he felt. "Just trust me, Katya. It will all work out and you will never have to dance for Kurskov again."

On the settee, Buffy's hands roamed Angel's body as they writhed against each other, oblivious to everything but the bone deep desire they'd always had for one another. Having finally gotten his jacket and shirt off, she gave a soft mewl of pleasure as she was able to explore his sleek, well-muscled torso. "Please," she moaned as Angel slid her dress from her body.

"God, you're so beautiful," he murmured, trailing wet, open mouthed kisses down her neck and across her chest. "Buffy—I never stopped loving you," he whispered against her flesh. "It's always been you," he said, before his mouth closed over her breast and he began to suckle, laving the pink tip with swirls of his talented tongue.

Buffy's fingers threaded through his soft, dark hair, clutching him to her breast. "Yes. Please. Need you."

He moved on to her other breast, giving it the same attention, even as he raised his hips, aiding her busy hands as she slid his pants down. "Jesus, baby," he groaned as the weeping tip of his erection brushed against her thigh. "You're so hot—you burn me."

He trailed wet kisses down her belly, nuzzling her skin as he came closer and closer to her mound of blond curls that, as far as he was concerned, shielded the entrance to heaven. He scooted down, opened her thighs wider and…froze. His eyes went golden and he reared back. "What the—?" He let out a loud growl and Buffy raised her head.

"Angel, what's—"

Fierce eyes skewered her in place. "Care to tell me why I can smell Spike all over you?"

Her eyes bulged and a blush suffused her entire body. "I-I…" Her words trailed off. What could she say? She tried to get up and get away from him, but he held her there, pinned under his heavier bulk.

"No. No running away. Tell me why you're fucking Spike."

Buffy swallowed hard and focused her gaze somewhere above his shoulder. "Because, he made me feel…something—anything." Suddenly feeling very naked, she covered her breasts with her arms. "I've been so cold—empty and when I tried to tell you—you sent me away, remember?" she asked, finally looking him in the eye.

His eyes were still glowing saffron and Buffy shoved him away. She was mortified he'd found out, and in such a disturbing way. Her blush deepened. "You know, that vamp smelling thing is just gross. It's not like I haven't—" She bit off the words 'showered since'. Instead she lashed out. "Why do you even care?" she snapped. "You left me, I never left you." Tears filled her eyes and she reached blindly for her dress. "You're the one who said you didn't want me in your life anymore—twice! So don't wig out on me for finding someone who wants me."

Her tears made him sick, but he couldn't seem to stop his jealous rage. "I told you I wanted a normal life for you—Spike isn't normal and he's not a person. He's a demon and a soulless one too!"

"But at least he stays. He doesn't tell me he loves me and then leave!"

"He's told you he loves you?" Raw pain tore jagged chunks out of his unbeating heart and his chest heaved with rage. If Spike had been in the room, Angel would have ripped him limb from limb.

Buffy struggled into her dress as Angel buttoned his pants. "What does it matter," she muttered, swiping tears away angrily. "You probably hate me now…" She laughed bitterly. "Join the club. You can't hate me more than I hate myself."

"Do you love him?" Angel blurted out.

Buffy's eyes bugged and she stared at him, jaw hanging open, before she laughed. She laughed and laughed, almost hysterical, and Angel reached for her, genuinely worried, but she smacked his hand away. "You're kidding, right?" She swallowed hard and the bleak look on her face sliced another chunk out of his heart. "How can you ask me that?" She reached for her shoes. "Oh, God, this was just what I needed—another gut-wrenching Angel trauma," she said under her breath.

He grabbed her arm. "Then why are you sleeping with him?"

She ripped her arm from his grip. "Because, I don't care anymore. Aren't you listening? I don't _care_. Nothing has been right since I came back. I feel…nothing. I am…nothing, so why not?"

The spirits watched the lovers with sadness.

"We can't let this happen," Katya said.

"They will still help us, love. They are warriors."

"I'm not talking about us, Stephan. These two—they love each other so deeply." She smiled at him. "They remind me of us. We cannot let them hurt each other anymore. We must help them."

He smiled at her gently. "That is what I love about you, my darling. You have such a tender heart." He knew this couple was his only chance to escape the curse Kurskov had placed on this room. "You're right."

Realizing he'd slept with Darla for exactly the same reason, Angel suddenly felt like an ass for humiliating her like this. "Just now…did you…?" He paused. "Did you feel something…with me?"

Buffy looked at him sadly. "I can't believe you actually have to ask me that. I felt cured with you, Angel. I've always felt loved and safe with you—" She stopped and glared. "Except times like these when you decide you want to rip my heart out and stomp on it." She sat on the settee to put her shoes on. "Let's just go handle this and then we can just go back to—"

He took her arm and pulled her up. "No!" he snarled and kissed her.

On reflex, Buffy pushed at his shoulders before she whimpered and curled her fingers into the hard muscle of his shoulders. When he lifted his head, she blinked open her eyes. "Wh-why did you do that?"

"I…" He shrugged. "I can't let you go like this."

"Why? You have before."

The ghostly lovers smiled at each other. "See, there is hope for them. They truly love each other—let's save them, Stephan. Even if we can't save ourselves, I'd never wish our fate on another."

The ache to hold her became excruciating. "I love you, lyubimaya moya," he whispered.

"And I you," she said. They shared one last look before they slithered back inside Buffy and Angel.

They felt the heat at the same time.

"Angel?" Buffy said, "Can you feel them?"

He nodded. "They're back."

Buffy could feel the spirit pushing her towards Angel. "Angel, I—please…" The words seemed to be pulled from the deepest regions of her heart. "I never stopped loving you," she whispered, then gasped. "Okay, I didn't mean to say that."

Angel couldn't stop himself from responding in kind. "Me too. You're still the only—" He slapped a hand over his own mouth, but to his shock, his other hand came up and pried the first one away. His true feelings came pouring from lips that no longer obeyed his commands. "The only woman I've loved, Buffy."

Buffy started to cry again. Stephan was inside, prompting Angel to tell the truth, and with a groan he capitulated. He reached out and pulled her into his arms. "Jesus, baby, I'm sorry. Forgive me for being such an idiot?"

Katya was forcing Buffy to admit her feelings too. She nodded against his chest. "If you can forgive me for…" She bit her tongue and shrugged. "You know."

"I can forgive you anything, but not him." He growled. "Next time I see Spike…I'm going to—"

Not wanting to open that can of worms, Buffy interrupted. "Angel, please. Let's not talk about him anymore. It was a mistake. Being with you made me realize I was looking for you in him. I don't—can't talk about it anymore…please, can we move on?"

"Yes," he said and his eyes darkened as he stared down into her beautiful face. "I want you," he murmured and lowered his head.

"Need you too," she answered, throwing her arms around his neck as she rose up on her tip toes to meet his kiss. "Angel…I want you to make love to me…" she breathed against his mouth.

He groaned. She was temptation wrapped in the sweetest package he'd ever laid eyes on. "Buffy…" he said, trying to gather his control, but Stephan wouldn't let him deny his need. "Yes," he said against his better judgment.

This time there was nothing holding them back. The spirits of Katya and Stephan brought out the lovers' true emotions and in seconds Buffy and Angel were naked.

"Angel-Angel-Angel-Angel…" she chanted as his hands ran over her body. It was heaven. Better even, and she should know. "Now…can't wait any longer," she whined, opening her thighs wide when he moved between them.

Katya and Stephan left the lovers' bodies with a soft whoosh. They stood off to the side, turning away as Buffy and Angel gave in to their love and need for one another.

"It worked," she said softly.

He nodded. "We still have to go back at just the right moment. I felt his demon…he's waiting to rise again. Perfect happiness will bring him back. We can't let that happen."

Angel couldn't wait another second. He had to be inside her. It had been so long. He braced himself on one arm as his other hand gripped his cock. He stared down at her as he guided it to her dripping core. He paused, once again awed by her beauty. Her eyes were closed and a look of rapture crossed her face as she felt him pressing into her. She was the most spectacular thing he'd ever seen, but was it her? He knew the spirit wasn't controlling him anymore, but was this really Buffy? He had to know. "Open your eyes," he demanded and her eyes flew open. She blinked, and then focused her heavy lidded gaze on his face. "Look at me. Who am I?"

She looked confused for a moment, before it dawned on her why he was asking. "You're Angel…_my_ Angel…" she breathed.

"I love you," he groaned and buried himself inside her with one deep plunge. "Jesus, you're tight," he said, letting out a loud growl of pleasure as she pulsed around him, stretching to accommodate his size.

Buffy's own long, drawn out keen echoed off the walls as he filled her completely. She clung to him, savoring the moment. "Angel, oh God, I love you," she moaned as the emptiness that had dogged her since she'd returned dissipated, until the only thing she felt was Angel and his love for her.

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**Outside:**

Gunn felt the hairs on his arms prickle as a loud wail echoed down the hallway. "Is anyone else getting the big creepy from this place?" A growl was heard shortly thereafter and Gunn paused. "Okay, this place is just wrong, and by wrong I mean, so very NOT right. Where the hell are Angel and Buffy?"

Another scream drifted to them and they all looked at one another.

"Did y'all hear that?" Fred asked.

Gunn nodded. "Like I said…creepy."

Cordy shrugged. "Sounds like someone's getting tortured."

Fred gasped and covered her mouth, but Queen C simply raised a brow and her eyes drilled into Fred. "That surprises you…why?" She glanced at her companions. "Hello…we're trapped in some backstage ballet hell-hole with some creepy demon things. Is torture so far out of the norm?" She brushed a piece of lint off her skirt. "I knew I should have said no when Angel even suggested I come with him—not that he even cares anymore," she griped as they made their way towards the noise. "Considering he just pushed me aside as soon as our gal Buffy showed up! Just wait 'till I get him back to the hotel. I swear I'm—"

"Cordy do be quiet, will you?" Wes hissed as louder, deeper sounds came from down the hall.

The Seer's mouth hung open for a second before she snapped it closed with a growl of frustration.

Fred, Gunn, Cordy and Wes paused by the door. Their eyes widened as deep moans, groans, growls, and breathless gasps issued from behind the door.

"It's right here. It sounds…" Wes stopped and listened again. "Does that sound like someone's in pain?" he whispered.

The sounds got louder. "Or someone's in fun…" Fred replied and then blushed as everyone turned to gape at her. "Well, it kinda sounds like they're—well, you know? Not actually in bad pain, but maybe a good kind…" Cordy glared and Fred fidgeted before she looked down. "But I could be wrong…"

"Has anyone thought that could be Buffy and Angel in there?!" Cordy asked, tapping her foot. Her gut twisted into knots and her eyes shot sparks as she gave each of the AI crew a hard stare. A trio of stunned expressions answered her, and she nodded. "Didn't think so," she snapped and grabbed the doorknob. She shot Wesley a glare that said if looks could kill—he'd be toast. "I _told_ you they shouldn't be alone, but nooooo…you insisted." She tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. The sounds were definitely getting louder and Cordy jiggled the knob. The growls were distinctly Angel now, and it was obvious he was anything but angry.

"A little help here…" Cordelia said, putting her shoulder against the door and shoving. Wes and Gunn added their muscle to the effort, but the door held fast. "Well, this is just great!" Cordy snapped, as her venomous gaze pinned Wes to the floor like a bug. "They're in there boffing like bunnies and we're stuck out here with no way to stop it!"

Gunn raised a brow. "Is it just me or is this really none of our business?" Cordy's eyes bugged, but Gunn went on. "Why do we care what Angel does with his ex-squeeze? You were wrong about the whole sex makes him bad—I mean, hello, dude's got a kid—he didn't get Darla pregnant playing tiddly-winks."

Cordy stepped forward and poked Gunn in the chest. "I'll tell you why we should care." She put her hands on her hips. "Didn't you hear me when I said there's only one person on this planet that makes Angel so happy he loses his soul?"

Gunn looked away. He hated Cordelia when she was like this. "But—"

She didn't let up. "No buts. Only Buffy makes Angel so wacky he loses everything and right now, she's in there…with him, and I think we all can hear—they're making with the happy!" Cordelia glared at them all. "If we don't get in that room before the big finish, we're gonna be running and screaming for our lives when Angelus comes out to play—mark my words."

Wes opened his mouth, but Cordy shut him up with a look. "I so don't want to hear an excuse right now. This was your brilliant plan that got us here. What do you suggest we do now, oh wise leader?"

Wes frowned, disturbed by the visual Cordy painted. "Run?"

Gunn's eyes shot to him. "You're kidding, right?"

Wes sighed. "I wish I was."

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**Okay guys, here's the next chappie…Musie is really on fire for this one. It's pretty much done, just the beta and polishing is left. ;) So, click the button—feed the musie beast and let me know what ya think, okay? :) :) **


	4. Chapter 4

"What really happened behind the Wings"

A fic by: Angel's blue eyed girl

Rating: Mmmm, an M for sure.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Joss owns them, I only get to play with them.

A/N: Thank you to Red for her wonderful job at beta reading this fic. You rock, sweetie. I'd also like to thank all my readers. I'm constantly amazed at the huge response I get to my fics, and I just want to say thank you so much for all your reviews and feedback. It inspires musie and keeps me motivated…NOW if you all could cross your fingers and send her inspiration for SC's and WiT. I'd really love to get a chappie each of those fics out! ;)

Okay, now for my shout outs. You guys have to check out either jaymartinez' fic "Greatest Twist of All" pst-pst- I wrote some of the smut for it in his next chappie! :P :P OR Chyna Fox's "Forsaken" BOTH fics rock! OH…and you MUST...simply MUST read anything by frost600. Her smut is damned hot people!! Her fics are definitely a new addiction for me… :)

Thanks,

xoxo

Jen

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**Chappie 4**

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Inside the room, Cordy wasn't far off the mark as Angel moved inside his lover with deep, feral strokes. The muscles in his back bunched and rippled as he rocked his hips, making love to Buffy with desperate urgency. She rose up to meet him, locking her legs around his waist as she matched his rhythm, thrust for thrust. Growling in pleasure, he leveled himself on one arm and lifted her thigh higher up on his hip. With a sexy purr, he slid in deeper, smiling with pleasure as her inner walls gripped him in a hot, wet, quivering vice –it was nirvana, and his eyes rolled with pleasure.

"So good…so…gooood," he murmured, nipping at her neck as his hips plowed into her welcoming heat. "I thought I'd dreamed how good you feel around me—it's better…so much better."

Buffy felt like she was in Heaven all over again. "I know. Now I remember…oh God…why I wanted to die every time you touched me," she gasped. "You're perfect," she sighed, trailing her hands up and down his back and over his tattoo as they created their own dance, their bodies moving in a rhythm as old as time. She took his face in her hands and kissed him. "Angel, make me feel that way again…"

"Buffy…" he groaned against her mouth. They kissed again as if sealing their renewed bond, until he pulled away, fighting to hold back his release long enough to make sure she came first.

She felt his hand slide between their writhing bodies and bit her lip, arching when his fingers found the spot that made her see stars. Her head thrashed on the pillow of the divan as her body started to tingle, signaling her on-coming orgasm. It began at her toes and traveled upward, until it settled into a throbbing pulse between her thighs, causing her to shiver with anticipation. Her heart thundered in her ears as he raised her leg even higher, placing her calf over his shoulder and almost bending her in half to hit a new penetration level.

"Oh, my God, yes, Angel. Harder—please." she cried, digging her nails into his shoulders as her head spun with the realization that this was what making love was all about. That deep connection—where you don't know where he ends and you begin…

"So close…" she moaned, torn between the need to climax and never wanting this connection with him to end.

She didn't have a choice. Angel felt his control fading while his own orgasm built. His thrusts became frenzied as he buried his face in the side of her neck. "Buffy, I'm right there…" he gritted out against her flesh. He was so close. The tiny flutters that signaled impending release tingled in his belly, making him desperate. "Come with me…" he gasped, rubbing that tiny bundle of nerves between his fingers with practiced skill until the contractions around his cock told him she was about to come too. "That's it, baby, let it go," he murmured into her hair as he added extra pressure on her clitoris, groaning when her inner muscles clamped down on him.

With the subtlety of an earthquake, Buffy's orgasm washed over her. Her eyes widened and with a ragged cry she dug her nails into his back, clutching him convulsively as the tingles turned into vibrant waves of ecstasy. "Aaaangelll!" she screamed, as her toes curled and her tiny body was wracked with the most amazing shivers of pleasure. "Ooooooh…oh God!"

His eyes rolled as her burning sheath clenched around him so tightly, he wondered wildly if she might squeeze his cock right off his body. "Fuck!" he gasped, pounding into her, urgently seeking his own relief, while at the same time struggling to keep his demon in check. He'd barely managed to subdue the urge to bite her when she blew his mind by tilting her neck to the side and telling him to 'do it'.

Groaning, he felt his face shift. "No," he ground out behind his fangs. "Stop—don't ask me to do that…"

"Please," she begged and brought his head down to her exposed flesh.

Against his will, he licked at the mark he'd made so long ago. So tempting…"No!" he gasped, turning his face away. Trembling, the desire to give in to her was so strong; he could almost taste the coppery sweetness of her blood on his tongue.

Wanting him inside her in_ 'every'_ way, Buffy dug her fingers into his hair and tugged his face back to her neck. "Pleeease, Aaangel," she whined, gripping his driving hips tighter with her thighs.

It was too much. His body had absorbed her heat, and he was sweating, panting, so close to orgasm he was beyond thought. Her plea was more than he could resist. "Forgive me," he breathed, and sank his fangs into the tender skin of her throat. She exploded again and he yelped when her legs tightened painfully around his waist as she rode out her climax, but after the initial shock, Angel groaned as the pain just added to the sweet heaven that was Buffy.

"Mmmmm," he moaned, gulping her blood like a man starved. The taste of her…it was far better than he'd remembered. He snarled when her Slayer blood hit his senses with the force of a Mack truck and triggered his orgasm. He pulled his fangs free and braced himself on his arms, thrusting into her uncontrollably. "Yeah…oh God," he gasped, eyes clenching shut as his entire body went stiff and he stopped thrusting. He threw his head back and gritted his teeth. "Buffy…" he groaned as he came, filling her womb with cool jets of semen.

At that moment Stephan nodded to his lover. "Now…" he said and the doomed lovers entered the bodies of the two Champions.

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**Meanwhile:**

Deep inside, Angelus crowed with glee. He hadn't expected Angel to take the risk of sleeping with Buff, but he'd been pleasantly surprised when the candy-ass had actually given in. But when Buff had offered her neck—Angelus had been stunned, then truly shocked when Soul-Boy had bitten her. At that moment he'd rubbed his hands together. It was only a matter of time now. He could feel Angel's surrender. Good ol' Buff. She was still the ticket to perfect happiness—would Angel never learn? Vicariously, he'd savored her blood, waiting for his moment, as the utter joy of Buffy's love and acceptance of everything he was, including his demon, washed over Angel like a warm kiss. Angelus licked his lips as his bonds loosened. **'Any minute now…'** Just when the chains began to snap, he felt the intruder again. What the hell was he doing back? God damned ghosts. **'Get out, Casper,'** he snarled. **'This isn't any of your fucking business!'**

But Stephan refused to budge. He knew the demon couldn't hurt him—even if he did scare the shit out of him with his dark thoughts.

'**Fine, I'll shove you out, asshole.'** Angelus began to pull against the bonds that held him prisoner under the soul, but to his disbelief they held firm. He tugged harder and harder, but he couldn't break free. What the fuck?

Angelus had felt everything Angel did, and he had no doubts Soul-Boy was utterly and more_ 'perfectly happy'_ than he'd ever been right now, so why wasn't he free? Desperate and enraged, he yanked and fought against his chains, cursing when they wouldn't budge.** 'What the fuck!' **

With sickening clarity he realized he'd been played. He'd waited patiently while the damned ghost had absorbed Angel's_ 'perfect fucking moment'!_

"**SON OF A BITCH!"** he snarled, and struggled again to get free, but it was no use. The chains were tight as ever.

He felt the ghost's fear of him and tried to take advantage of it.** "Think this is over, ghosty? It's not. When I get out of here—"** The fear dissipated, replaced by the endless silence of being tuned out. He was intimately familiar the feeling because Angel did it to him all the time. With a malicious growl; the dark demon gave up his threats. **"Fucker," **he snapped, and settled down in the darkness to plot his revenge.

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**Inside the theater:**

The AI crew were still wandering the hallways trying to find the door back to the theatre.

Cordy rolled her eyes. "There's no way out. We've been wandering around here like Spinal Tap back here for like, ever—we need to get in that room where Buffy and Angel are."

Wes hated to say what he was thinking, but it needed to be said. "And if he isn't Angel anymore?"

Gunn and Fred stared. Neither of them had ever seen Angelus, so they weren't sure how bad he really was.

"Then we do what we have to," Cordy said with a hard edge to her voice.

Fred gasped. "But you can't—" Her wide eyed gaze went from Wes, to Cordelia. "You'd really kill him?"

Gunn tried to soothe her. "Cordy's right…Angel told me once about his 'not-so- nice' side—he wouldn't want to be that again and I can say for a fact, if I bump into 'evil' Angel…I'm staking first…askin' questions—" His words ended with a scream and the big man fell forward with a thud. The gang stared in stunned silence, their eyes going from their fallen friend to the minion in a 'tragedy' mask, standing there with a bloody sword in his hand.

"Charles!" Fred cried, kneeling down to see if he was still alive. He was. "Thank God," she whispered. With murder in her eyes, she grabbed a prop from a stack of boxes and began to wallop the minion over the head and shoulders with it again and again.

Wes and Cordy heard a giggle behind them and turned to find another one in a laughing mask. He drew a sword and waved them forward.

"As if we weren't in enough trouble…" Cordelia muttered. "Now we have Tweedle-Dee and Dum here to deal with…"

The minion attacked and Wes leaped away from the razor sharp tip of the sword. Cordy rushed past Fred, who was still pounding on the other creature, and picked up the 'tragedy' minion's fallen sword. "Wes!" she called, and tossed him the sword.

Wes caught it and engaged the 'comedy' minion. "Can you handle the other one?"

Cordy looked at the unconscious minion Fred had beaten up. "I think Fred's already bashed his brains in—not much to do there."

The 'comedy' minion took off around a corner. "See if Gunn's okay. I'll take care of this one," he called out, and gave chase.

Cordy grabbed a piece of clothing off a wardrobe rack and headed over to Fred, who was sitting on the floor with Gunn's head in her lap. "How is he?" she asked, kneeling down and tearing the shirt she held into strips.

"He's hurt…I think he might be dying…" Fred sobbed.

"No—not dying…" Gunn groaned and opened his eyes.

"Charles!" Fred cried and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Cordy helped the big man to sit up. "Let me look at it," she ordered.

He grimaced and sucked in a breath when Cordy checked the wound. "Ouch—don't poke at it!"

Cordy snorted. "Don't be a baby—it's not that deep." She began applying pressure to the injury. "You're lucky," she said, but the smile on her face belied her no-nonsense tone of voice.

Fred took Gunn's hand and the street fighter reached up to brush a lock of hair back from her face. "If I knew I'd get a kiss out of the deal—I'd have gotten stabbed a long time ago!"

Cordy rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother," she grumbled as she finished bandaging the wound. She gave Gunn an exasperated look as she got to her feet. "Well, the good news is…you're not dying, the bad news is… you're obviously still male."

Fred giggled and pulled Charles' head back onto her lap. Cordy sighed. Great, just what they needed right now, another office romance. "Look, you two stay here. I'm going after Wes. We need to get the hell out of here before we're hunted down and tortured to death by Angel's not so cuddly alter ego."

Gunn struggled to stand, but Cordy pushed him back down. "Just hide—over there," she said, pointing to a place behind a large stack of boxes and stage props. She turned to go, but stopped. "Oh…if you hear Angel, and he tells you to come out—don't," she said and headed off in the same direction Wesley had gone.

Fred helped Gunn to hide.. He groaned as she helped him ease back into a sitting position. "I don't like this," he muttered as they hunkered down to hide. "It just goes against my—"

"What?" Fred smiled. "Tough guy exterior?"

He chuckled softly. "Yeah, something like that I guess."

Fred nodded, but frowned at him just the same. "Well, it's better than you facing Angel, if he's—you know, bad, I can't see you two fighting each other…" She blinked back tears. "It'd just be awful."

She pulled his head back into her lap and began to stroke his face with soft, gentle hands. "I'm sorry if your manly image of yourself is throw off, but considering the probabilities of you dying right now if you were to face an evil Angel…" She seemed to mentally calculate the risks, and shrugged."No, hiding is definitely your only option." She stroked his face and smiled down at him. "And really…this isn't such a bad thing, after all…is it?"

Gunn couldn't just forget her feelings for Angel. "Would you really care?" he asked softly.

"Would I—How could you even ask that?" Fred suddenly started to cry. "I know I shouldn't fall apart like this, but you're hurt—I could have lost you, and we still might lose Angel…"

Gunn sat up, wincing slightly at the pain. His question really hadn't been answered, but here was his shot. Angel wasn't interested, but he was. "Hey, it'll work out. I'm okay, and I may not know much about Angel's curse, but I know Angel and he ain't gonna give it up without a fight, so let's not count him out just yet, okay?" he asked, tilting her chin up.

"You really think so?"

"I know so," he whispered, getting lost in those big brown eyes, and giving in to the desire he had to kiss her.

Fred stared into his eyes, stunned at the attraction she saw there. "Oh," she said, giving a soft, breathless moan when Charles wrapped his hand behind her head and brought her head down.

Their eyes closed as they tasted each other for the first time. Neither of them noticed Wesley as he stood off to the side—watching them.

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**Inside Katya's dressing room:**

They dressed silently, each struggling with conflicted feelings as they tried to decide how to handle what had happened between them.

"So we're good then? You're still you?" she asked, though she already knew the answer. Angelus would never look so guilt-ridden.

He nodded and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Um…I don't get it either, but yeah, I'm still me," he said, shooting a quick glance at her as he tucked his shirt in. He didn't know what to say. Was she mad he hadn't lost his soul, or happy? He picked up his jacket and shrugged it on. "Buffy, I—"

Looking somewhere over his shoulder, she cut him off. "No need to explain." She shrugged. "Look, Angel, things change. I used to be perfect happiness. Now I'm not," she said with a definite pout. "Really…no need to beat it into the ground. I get it."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. "Stop it," he said, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist. She looked away and he tipped her chin, making her look at him. "I was happy, Buffy. PERFECTLY HAPPY," he stated. She bit her lip and frowned, but he cupped her cheek, and brought her attention back to his face. "I know I didn't lose my soul," he said, rubbing his thumb along the curve of her lower lip. "I think at that last second…it wasn't just me anymore. I think the ghost was back…" He shrugged. "Maybe that's why." His dark eyes met hers. "That's the ONLY thing that makes sense because if it was left to my happiness…Angelus should be standing here with you, right now. Not me," he said softly.

The absurdity that they were getting into an argument because he _'hadn't'_ lost his soul hit her and a smile tugged at her lips. She shook her head, exasperated with herself. "I'm wigging here, aren't I?"

He sighed with relief, and bit back his grin. "Yeah, you were looking a little pissed."

Buffy sighed. "Sorry for the major Buffy-meltdown. It's just—you really were perfectly happy?"

He chuckled, rolled his eyes and took her face in his hands, hunkering down so that they were eye to eye. "I told you, yes. What do you want to hear? Want me to say, you rocked my world—blew my head off…made me lose my mind…I think you get my meaning here. You gave me ultimate joy, Buffy. Are _you_ happy now?" he asked with a sexy half smile.

She put her head down, but a small smile played along her lips. "Mmmm, I think pleasantly euphoric fits better," she sighed, turning her back to him so he could fasten her dress. "So why didn't Angelus show?"

He leaned forward and kissed the spot where he'd bitten her. It was raw and red, but healing already. "I don't know," he said. "Are you disappointed that he didn't?" he asked, hands on her shoulders.

Buffy chuckled. "You're kidding, right?" She looked over her shoulder, saw he was serious and shook her head. "Angel…you can't be serious…?" she asked.

He pulled her back against his chest. "I don't know…you seemed pretty upset I wasn't soulless…"

She shook her head emphatically. "No. No way. I'm sorry. It was just Buffy having a major moment of insecurity…"

She lifted her hair and tilted her head forward and his tongue darted out to taste her again, just for a moment, before he reluctantly pulled away. "Good, I'm glad it was just a moment, because I'd hate to think you're sitting here pining for Angelus to come back," he teased, zipping her up.

"Noooo," she said, turning in his arms. "I'm totally over the whole 'my boyfriend is evil' thing," she teased, as she buttoned the last two buttons on his shirt and went to work on his bow tie. "I'd much rather have a soulful vamp boy—" She stopped. She'd almost called him her boyfriend. Stunned at how easily she'd fallen right back in sync with him, she finished with his tie and smoothed her hands over his chest and shoulders. "There. You look perfect again," she said, hoping he'd ignore her slip of the tongue.

He couldn't. Their eyes met and held, and he had no idea where they went from here, but he knew he couldn't walk away from her again. He took her hand when she tried to move away. "Buffy, you know how I feel—"

At that moment, a man wearing a dark grey 'Comedy' mask popped up from behind the couch they'd just made love on.

"Angel, look out!"

He turned his head just in time to take a right cross. He fell into Buffy, taking them to the floor with Angel sprawled on top of her.

She pushed against Angel's chest. "Not that I don't enjoy this position—but that was rude. I think we should kick his ass."

He got to his feet and helped her up. "I agree."

"Okay," Buffy said, getting into fighting position as she counted three opponents. "Are these guys human?"

He inhaled. "Nope, so feel free to maim and kill."

"Good," she responded and attacked the one who'd punched Angel, smacking the creature so hard across the face, his laughing smile, nearly turned into a frown. She ducked his retaliation blow, hiked up her dress, and kicked the creature in the chest, sending him crashing into a dresser. Knick-knacks flew and a lamp that was perched precariously on the edge of the chest fell and landed on his head, knocking the minion unconscious. Buffy blew the hair out of her eyes and turned in time to see Angel snap the neck of the one he was fighting.

"I guess we can assume that our lovers were interrupted by this Kursovo guy and his lackeys?"

Angel grinned at her mutilation of their opponent's name. "Kurskov, Buffy, his name is Kurskov."

"Whatever," she replied with a shrug. "I'd say it was these guys…" She met another charge of two comedy minions. She ducked, dodged, and sent one flying. "That messed up Katya's and Stephan's plans, huh?" she said, flipping the other one over her back, and spinning to kick one creeping up behind her.

"You think?" Angel said, jumping back as one of the comedy minions took his sword and drove it towards Angel's stomach. He punched the creature in the face, dodged the minion's charge and snapped its neck with a loud crunch.

Buffy didn't have a chance to reply as another minion in a mask attacked. Her dress was hindering her movements and with a sigh of regret, Buffy ripped a long slit up the side. Nimble again, she danced away as he struck out at her with his dagger. When he swung at her again and she spun away, reached out, grabbed his arm and crushed his wrist until he dropped the knife. The tragedy minion lunged for the dagger and he and Buffy went to the floor. Buffy delivered several punishing blows to his head, then grabbed the dagger and buried it in the creature's chest.

At the same time, Angel was finishing off his newest opponent. He kicked the sword out of the minion's hand, dove for it and jumped back to his feet with the rapier in his fist. The comedy minion rushed him and Angel stabbed the thing in the heart just as Buffy staggered to her feet, breathing hard. Angel rushed across the room, the sword still in hand. "You okay?" he asked, taking out his handkerchief from his pocket and wiping at the blood dripping from her split lip.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but can I just say…fighting in high heels really sucks!"

He chuckled. "I wouldn't know." She grinned and his eyes moved over her body, checking for any other injuries. He noticed slit up her dress and let out a soft whistle. "You have amazing legs," he breathed, totally off topic.

Buffy's belly clenched and she gave a soft groan. "Angel…we so have to get out of here," she said, heading for the door.

"Why?" Angel asked, looking puzzled. He glanced back at the bodies lying sprawled about. "You think they're not dead?"

Buffy's eyes traveled over his body and she bit back a moan. "No, they're dead, but the way you're looking at me …" She grabbed the handle. "It makes me want to toss you right back on that couch, so if we don't go now…" She let the sentence hang as her eyes traveled his body.

Angel's eyes widened before a slow smile broke out on his handsome face. "Oh."

Buffy opened the door. "Yeah, oh. There'll be definite 'oh--ing' if we don't go now."

Angel adjusted his pants. "Right. We need to go, okay, so do you still feel the ghosts? Because all I'm feeling is you…" He froze. "I mean, I feel your—I don't feel the ghosts, I feel like myself again."

Buffy's face was the shade of a ripe apple. "I know what you mean. I may not be possessed anymore, but I know they're here and they need our help. This Count Kursov is like, major stalker guy and needs to have his ass kicked."

Angel still wanted to talk about them, but she was right. First they needed to free the spirits and then they could talk about their future. "Okay, so let's go find the Count, hmm?"

"My thoughts exactly,' she said marching out the door with a determined tilt to her chin.

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**Okay, now if all of you who read this will take the time to feed the musie-beast. It will make me update faster…Feedback is like heroin! FEED MY MUSIE! lol!! ;) :)**


	5. Chapter 5

"**What really happened behind the Wings"**

**A fic by Jen. (getting lazy here)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own them, Joss does, but he was mean, and I like to make them happy more than he does, so I borrow them.**

**A/N: Thank you to Red, as always for being an awesome beta. Thank you my friend.**

**Now for the shout outs. If you haven't read any of these fics; you NEED to. Seriouasly...here is a list of some of my "MUST READ" authors: Vixangel has an incredible epic tale called "Broken" frosty600 has some amazing fics. Esmerada007 has a great fic called, "Forbidden Love" Jaymartinez has a cool fic "Greatest Twist of All" Helmi1 is just an awesome writer and has a few fics that are killer. OyHumbug is another author that has some very good fics, elaine451 too, anything she writes is amazing. ****uskohakuchan, ****Kay8abc, and MacKenzie Creations are three more ladies that write sensational B/A fics. Jeez, so many now…lol!! If I forgot you—I'm sorry. I try to remember everyone, but I'm blond and sometimes I space out! Anyhow, now I want to say a quick thanks to all of you who R&R…**

_**YOU**_** are my**_** real**_** inspiration. Thank you!**

**Okay, enough with Jen's babble…huh? On with the show already… :) **

**xoxo**

**Jen**

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**Chappie 5**

Buffy and Angel came around a corner only to find another no-end-in-sight hallway. "Ever feel like a rat in a maze?" she asked, blowing out a frustrated breath.

Angel nodded as he turned and headed back the way they'd just come. "At least the rat can smell the cheese and follow his nose," he muttered, stopping where all four hallways converged.

Buffy stopped too and raised a brow at him. "Well, can't you do that?"

He frowned. "Can't I what? Follow my nose?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that whole smelling thing…It's one of your super-powers, right?"

He rolled his eyes and gave her a disgruntled look. "Are you comparing me to a rat?"

She giggled. "No, you're too broody to be a rat." She looped her arms around his neck and gave him a cheeky grin. "More like a bloodhound." Buffy laughed again when his brows drew down even further. "I'm not insulting you. I'm just…encouraging you to use that vamp smelling thing you guys do." His eyes narrowed and she sighed. "We've tried everything else...I say we try using your super-smell to find the rest of the gang."

Was she referring to him and Spike? Jealousy tore through him and he scowled. "Who are the 'we guys' in that statement?"

Buffy recognized that look. She stepped back. "You know what I mean, Angel," she said. "Please don't bring him up. I already hate—"

Pulling her back into his arms, he stopped her with a kiss. "Sorry," he whispered. He leaned his forehead against hers. "I'm jealous and being a jerk. Forgive me?"

Her smile lit up her face. "Always," she breathed.

He kissed her gently again, then gave her his sexy half-smile. "So…should I just stand here and take big whiffs?"

"Works for me…" She shrugged. "We can't get any more lost, right?'

He chuckled softly, but closed his eyes and turned in a circle.

"So…are you getting anything?"

His eyes snapped open, and he turned to the hallway to their left. "This way."

He seemed tense and Buffy looked around warily. "What is it? What did you…?"

"Smell?" he supplied. She nodded and he growled softly. "I smelled blood, Buffy, and a lot of it—it's Gunn's," he said, starting down the hallway.

"Wait," she said, grabbing his arm. She took off her heels. "Okay, let's go."

He took her hand and they ran down the hallway, turning this way and that, until they came around a corner and spotted Fred sitting amongst a stack of boxes and stage props, holding Gunn's head in her lap.

They rushed over to the couple.

Fred gasped as she took in Angel's mussed hair and Buffy's kiss-swollen lips. "Stay back," she said, brandishing what appeared to be a huge hunk of cheese.

Angel skidded to a stop and Buffy barely avoided crashing into him. "Fred, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Are you Angel?" she asked, waving the cheese prop at him like a weapon.

He frowned. "What?"

Fred raised a brow. "You heard me. Are you still Angel…or are you that Angelus guy?"

Angel was glad he couldn't blush. "Great," he muttered. He had Cordy to thank for this, he was sure.

Buffy wasn't so lucky. Her face was the shade of a ripe apple as she realized Fred knew what had happened between her and Angel. "Um…yeah…he is." She glanced at the foam piece of cheese. "And trust me when I say, if he wasn't, _that_ wouldn't stop Angelus, so you can put it down now."

Fred looked skeptical, but she set the prop aside anyway.

Angel leaned down to Buffy. "Now I feel like a rat," he teased softly.

"Huh?" Their conversation about following his nose came back to her and she giggled. "Oh, so you can make with the funny now?" she said, eyes sparkling.

He shrugged. "I try…" He glanced back to Gunn. "So what happened? We could smell blood—"

"We…?" Buffy said.

Angel sighed. "Okay,** I** could smell blood—what happened?"

Gunn struggled to sit up. "We got attacked by some dudes in masks, but I'm okay, it's just a scratch." Fred stood and helped him to his feet. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Angel frowned. "Of course, why wouldn't we be?" Gunn raised a brow and Angel shrugged. "Buffy and I were attacked too, but we're fine."

"Yeah, we heard you 'being attacked." His voice was laced with sarcasm. "Didn't sound like you were fighting her off, man," he said, looking from Angel to Buffy.

Buffy began to fidget. "Um…we…ah…were…" Her eyes begged Angel for help.

Angel had no intention of talking about what happened between him and Buffy. "We hit a mystical hot spot back in the dressing rooms. Things happened, but I'm still me." He cleared his throat. "Anything else is between Buffy and me."

"Good, cause we heard about the big happy and were worried," Gunn said.

Angel's brows lowered. "I know Cordy told you a bunch of bad things, but this isn't open for discussion. Let's just say, Angelus didn't come out and leave it at that." Fred started to say something and Angel held up his hand. "It's my personal business, Fred." He noticed the way she was fussing over Gunn. "Want me to ask you about yours?"

Fred blushed, thinking about 'the kiss' from earlier. "Um…no. Sorry," she said softly.

"Hey, as long as you're not turning into evil Angel—I'm happy you're finally getting a love life, man," Gunn teased, glancing at Buffy. "And she's definitely a step up from Darla…"

Angel felt his stomach drop.

"Darla?" Buffy was confused. "What about Darla?" she asked with a frown. "How do you even know about her?"

Fred shrugged and gave a nervous giggle. "It'd be kinda hard not to know about the mother of Angel's son, don'tcha think?" She noticed Buffy's dress then. "Um, Buffy…your tag…" She reached behind the smaller woman and tucked the tag back in.

Buffy's heart stopped and she felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. "What did you say?"

"I said your tag was—"

"No, before that… What did you say about Darla and a child?"

Angel grabbed Buffy's hand. "Buffy, I can explain…"

She yanked away. "No, I don't think you can," she growled. Angry green eyes turned on him. "HOW can you explain? First off—isn't Darla dead? I remember you putting a stake in her, so how—?"

He sighed. "An evil law firm I've had trouble with brought her back from the dead."

Buffy rolled her eyes and frowned. "Doesn't _anyone_ stay dead anymore?" she muttered, then blew out a frustrated breath. "So she came back from the dead and you what…? Decided to give her one more boff for old times' sake?"

He shook his head. "It wasn't like that. It was…" He tried to find the words, but couldn't and shrugged instead, "complicated."

"Yeah, I bet," she snapped. "It sounds…complicated." She glared. "It also sounds like an excuse, but then again…you're good at those, aren't you? You promised me forever…then you left."

"Buffy, you know why I—"

"Yeah, it was for my own good. So I could have a normal life with babies and sunshine…" She laughed, but it was a hysterical, broken sound. "That's funny since you're the one who has a child, not me." She hugged her stomach. "You know what I got, Angel?" He swallowed, not sure what to say, but she didn't wait for a reply. "I got a _'normal'_ boyfriend I never loved, friends who don't understand me, and death." She angrily wiped at the tears that trailed down her cheeks. "Is that complicated, or just unfair?"

He tried to comfort her, but she held up a hand, warding him off. "Don't…" She sighed. "You even made me feel like shit for Spike, when you have a baby…with Darla of all people!" She shook her head. "Wow…hypocrite much?" She stopped, crossed her arms and raised a brow at him. "Where is she, by the way? At home with your child, while you're—" Suddenly her face paled as what they did together tonight came back in a rush. "How could you? We—" She couldn't finish. "Oh, God," she whispered.

Angel felt as physically sick as she looked. "Buffy, I'm—"

"I swear, if you say I'm sorry, I'll beat you 'till your dust!"

Fred and Gunn watched with their mouths hanging open. The history and emotions between Buffy and Angel was obviously _**so**_ much more than Cordy and Wes had made it out to be in their reenactment of the couple's love affair, it was almost laughable. Gunn glanced at Buffy. She looked so upset he was actually worried for Angel—a heart-broken, pissed-off Slayer wasn't something a vampire wanted to mess with.

Angel reached for her again, but she shoved him so hard, he stumbled and landed on his ass. "Don't-touch-me!" she gritted out slowly.

"Buffy, please…just give me a chance to explain it to you," he said, getting to his feet.

She laughed bitterly. "You can't. You're a cheating bastard who—"

He grabbed her arm. "Stop! Darla's dead. She died giving birth to Connor."

That gave her pause. "So you're not a cheat, but you're still a liar, a hypocrite, and a—"

He shook her. "Enough! _Now _is _not_ the time to have this conversation!"

She glanced down at his hands, then back up at his face. Her eyes blazed. "Really?" She raised a brow. "Well, how about this…?" She hauled off and punched him in the jaw. Angel flew back several feet and crashed into the wardrobe rack, sending him and clothes skidding across the floor. She smiled, but it was angry, nothing like Buffy's normally radiant smile. "Now seemed the perfect time for that.,"

Angel sat up, and tested his jaw, surprised it wasn't broken. He eyed Buffy warily. "Feel better now?"

"Actually, yeah, I do. Do you?" she asked with a saucy grin and green eyes that were still furious.

He got to his feet. "No. I feel like the liar and hypocrite you called me." He moved closer and she gave him a wary look, but didn't look like she was going to stake him, so he took another step, careful to watch for any signs that she wanted him to back off. "I'm not sorry about Connor. I can't be. But I'm sorry I hurt you and if you'll give me the chance…" His big brown eyes pleaded and Buffy felt her heart melting. "I'll explain everything to you. I promise."

She searched his face. Could she trust him? He'd promised her forever once only to break up with her barely a week later. He was the only person on the planet who had the power to bring her to her knees. Could she let him back into her heart? She almost laughed out loud. Let him back in? Buffy sighed. When had he ever left? "Okay, but you're so not off the hook. When this is over…we're sitting down for a very long and very serious talk."

He nodded, and opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off. "No, don't just agree. When I say serious, I don't mean patting me on the head and making my choices for me, or telling me what you think I want to hear. I mean a grown up 'how are we going to make this work' kind of talk, Angel. Make sure you're up for it, because you have a lot of explaining to do."

A slow smile spread across his face. She was going to give him a chance. It was more than he'd hoped for. "I love you, Buffy," he said softly.

She gave him the first real smile since she'd found out about Darla. "I know, but you have this thing about being all 'sacrifice-guy', and that doesn't work for me anymore. I need 'stable-stay-and-work-it-out-guy'."

"Okay. When we're done here, will you come back to my Hotel with me…meet my son and we can…talk?"

She nodded. "I'd like that, but right now…I need a minute to get myself together, okay?" She turned her back on him.

He stepped away, giving her some space. Fred and Gunn came to stand beside him.

"Not to be unfeeling here because that was way more information than I ever wanted to know about your relationship with her, but is she going to be any help with what's going on here?"

Angel smiled. His voice was soft and filled with admiration as he said, "Yeah, she'll be fine. She's angry, and I have a lot of explaining to do, but she's the strongest woman I've ever met."

Fred looked at Gunn. "Now that's Kyrumption."

Angel heard that and smiled. "For the first time…I actually agree with you, Fred."

A minute later, Buffy was back, calm, and all Slayer again.

She gave Gunn and Fred a grateful look when neither of them made mention of her and Angel's fight. "Okay, so here's what we know… the ballerina had a lover and they were afraid of this Count Kurskov guy. He has their spirits trapped in her dressing room…that's what took over me and Angel."

Angel nodded. "Kurskov has powers, so he must be a Warlock or—"

"He's a wizard," Wes said, walking towards them, a sword hanging loosely by his side.

"Where's Cordy?" Fred asked.

"I haven't seen her," he replied, not meeting her gaze. "But I can tell you Kurskov was obsessed with the girl and when he saw her with another man, he became insane with jealousy. He pulled her out of time, and swore she'd dance _only_ for him."

Everyone gaped at him.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked.

"How did you—?" Fred started.

Wes cut her off. "I hit a…um…hot spot too," he said.

"So are we stuck here or what?" Gunn asked.

Wes couldn't look at him either. Instead he focused on Buffy and Angel. "This kind of temporal shift requires a lot of power and concentration. It can't just exist. Kurskov must be close by. If we can overload him, we can get back to our reality."

Gunn grinned. "Give it up for the man with the plan…"

"Okay, so how do we overload him?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I'd imagine the more he has to focus on us—the more energy he exerts."

Suddenly a dead minion rose. His body shuddered, then split into two. "Like that kind of energy?" Buffy asked.

They all turned to see what she was pointing at and Angel rolled his eyes. "Great," he growled.

"The more we kill…the more he makes?" Fred asked.

Wes nodded. "Um—yes, I'd say _that_ requires a lot of energy., wouldn't you?"

Angel grabbed both minions in a headlock and snapped their necks. As soon as they hit the floor, they convulsed and split again. Now there were four of them. At the same time the wall seemed to flash and shift to reveal the real world beyond.

"Was that the stage?" Buffy asked.

Angel nodded. "Yeah, it's gotta take all his power to make more minions…it weakens his hold on the temporal shift."

Wes grabbed his sword and held it up. "It's draining his energy—we have to force him to focus all his energy on beating us."

"By making more monsters?" Gunn shook his head. "Okay, man with the frightening plan."

Wesley stabbed one of the minions, killing it, and Buffy noticed the wall shimmer again. She reached out, grabbed another minion and snapped its neck. Reality shifted and the actual stage was revealed again. "It's working," she called out.

Angel saw it too. He made his way to the shift, snapping necks as he went along. "Buffy and I will go after the Count and his power source. You guys keep him occupied here."

Buffy killed two more before she made it to Angel's side.

Gunn pushed Fred behind him as more and more minions rose. "Okay, but hurry and no going back into that other room!" he yelled.

Angel rolled his eyes at the bigger man and took Buffy's hand in his.

Wes chopped the head off one, turned and stabbed another in the heart. The temporal shift shimmered and fluctuated again. "Now," he yelled to Buffy and Angel.

The two Champions leaped through the shift and landed in the wings, backstage.

They spotted the ballerina waiting just offstage. Angel approached her. "Katya?"

She turned. "Who are you?" She glanced over Angel's shoulder and noticed Buffy. "What are you—?" She frowned. "You're new."

Buffy smirked. "Actually _he's_ not—he's kinda old really."

Angel rolled his eyes at her, but Buffy just smiled at him, and he couldn't help returning it. He'd missed her wit. "I've seen you dance," he said to the ballerina.

She sighed and turned away again. "Everyone sees me."

"It was Giselle then, too—a hundred years—doing the same piece. Is that enough?"

"It's always Giselle. It'll never change. The years…they don't matter. I'll wait and I'll dance, then I'll dance again. Nothing matters anymore."

Buffy stepped forward. "What about Stephan? Doesn't he matter?"

Katya's eyes widened. "How did you—?" She turned back to the stage. "I waited too long. I should have gone when he asked." She swallowed hard. "But I wanted this. Now, all I do is dance and wait."

Angel shook his head. "No, you can change it. You're not trapped—your spirit—Stephan's—they live in your dressing room."

Katya's eyes narrowed. "How do you know this?"

Buffy blushed. "Because…we…um…felt it."

For a moment, hope lit the dancer's lovely face. Then she wilted again. "But what can I do? Kurskov…he owns me."

Buffy shook her head. "No, he doesn't. He's punishing you, but he only owns what you give him." She took a step closer to the woman. "Don't let him win. I know something about regrets—they never go away. They haunt you—change it," Buffy said. "Dance something new."

Angel's attention went from Katya to Buffy. He knew about regrets too. Not anymore. He decided then and there he was going to make that commitment she needed. He was tired of waiting in the wings for his own chance at happiness—it was time to do something new.

Katya sighed. "It wouldn't matter. Kurskov will never let me go." She glared up at Kurskov in his balcony….watching…always watching. "He doesn't even know the ballet. Every time in the first act—I slip, but he never notices. I don't just dance. I echo." She glanced at Buffy and Angel. "Can you stop him—make him let me go?"

Buffy's eyes locked on the arrogant face of the Count. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about him," she said, determination in her voice. "We'll take care of him. You just dance something from your heart."

Katya looked from Buffy to Angel. "Why do you care?"

Buffy smiled gently and shrugged. "It's what we do. We fight," she said, her eyes meeting Angel's.

Katya studied them. "You also love, but you've had pain too. I can feel it."

Buffy nodded. "So have you. The question is,what we do about it? Do we sit here and just accept what fate has handed us, or do we fight for what we want?"

The ballerina nodded. "You're right." She squared her shoulders. "I'll do it."

Buffy smiled. "Good. Stephan is waiting for you."

Katya froze. "He is?" Angel and Buffy nodded.

"He loves you," Angel said.

Katya glanced up at Kurskov and turned to the Champions. "Thank you." The music changed and the ballerina took a deep breath, closed her eyes and smiled. "I won't disappoint him this time," she whispered and stepped onto stage…

When Katya struck a new pose and began to dance, Kurskov leaped to his feet. "No! What is she doing?!"

Buffy and Angel walked onto the stage. "I'd say he's a little ticked, hmm?" she asked.

Angel grinned. "First one there gets to kick his—" Buffy suddenly took a running leap and landed in Kurskov's box. "Ass," Angel finished and followed her up.

"How dare you!" Kurskov blustered.

Buffy shrugged. "Oh, I dare. I'm the Slayer. Being daring kinda comes with the gig."

"Where's your power center?" Angel snarled, grabbing the Count up by his collar.

Kurskov tried to pry Angel's hands off. "Figure it out, Vampire," he taunted.

A large cross shaped medallion hanging around the Count's neck seemed to glow. Angel smirked. "Let me guess. The cross?"

"Yes, and isn't it a shame you can't touch it!" The Count chuckled.

Buffy tapped him on the shoulder. "Not to interrupt your gloating…" She motioned to Angel. "HE may not be able to touch it, but…" Buffy wrapped her hand around the cross. "I can," she said, and yanked it off him.

A huge wave a blue light flashed from the cross, and Buffy and Angel shielded their eyes as Kurskov screamed, "You have no right!"

Buffy tossed the now melted cross on the floor. "Save it. We have every right." She raked him with her eyes. "My suggestion to you—counseling and lots of it," she snapped and headed back to the stage.

Angel started to follow, but Kurskov grabbed his arm. "You think you've won? You're just like me—trying to hold onto something beyond you. She'll never be yours." He laughed. "A vampire and a Slayer? That's worse than an anomaly." Kurskov clutched Angel tighter. "Katya was my love—she danced only for me and where she is now?" Angel glanced down at the stage. The ballerina was now dancing a new routine with a tall, athletic blond man. "Your Slayer will never love you like you want her to, and then you will know what I feel. I will win."

Angel looked down at his hand, and felt a frisson of fear race through him. Did he and Buffy really stand a chance? Images of Spike touching her made him sick. Could he get past that? He grabbed Kurskov's wrist and squeezed until the Count dropped to his knees. Angel flung his hand off. "Buffy loves me," he growled, turning on his heel, and walking away before the Count could see the nerve his words had struck.

Angel met Buffy at the backstage exit. "Ready?" he asked, not quite meeting her eyes.

Buffy felt a change in him. "Angel, is everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about—never mind, everything is fine," he said, wondering who was lying to…himself or Buffy.

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_**Okay, this fic only has about two more chappies. I hope you loved it like I loved writing it. It healed my heart to picture Buffy here, so I hope it did yours too. Anyhow…you know the drill…FEED the musie so she feeds me! ;) :) :)**_


	6. Chapter 6

"_**What really happened behind the Wings"**_

**A fic by: Jen**

**Rating: Do I really need to answer that?**

**Disclaimer: Yes Joss, you own them, but I think I love them more than you did, so thank you for letting me play with them.**

**A/N: Thank you as always to Red for her amazing beta work. I love ya, babe. I'm trying to keep this short, so I'll say thank you to ALL of you who R&R. You make me want to write…believe me. Also, if you haven't checked it out…you have to check out, "You're no Mr. Smith" It's a Buffy/Angelus fic and it's amazing. Amber is my friend and beta for one of my fics and she is truly talented. Also give a look see to Jay's "Greatest Twist of All" Kay8abc has a terrific fic and so does my good friend Helmi1. I know most of you have read her Liam/Buffy time period fic. It's awesome isn't it? Esmerada007's "Forbidden Love" is great as is my bud Vixangel's "Broken" (which she's taking her sweet ass time updating btw) lol!! :) :) **

**(*Here's a new author guys*) Bangel'stheonlywaytogo has some very creative ideas and she's just starting out. So, if you get a chance, please check out her fics out and R&R. Feedback is SO important for the new author. Thanks. :)**

**Okay, enough of Jen's "pimping" lol! :P :P I LOVE that line… :)**

**xoxo**

**On with the show…**

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**Chappie 6**

Buffy and Angel watched as the spirits finished their dance and then disappeared in a brilliant flash of white light.

She glanced at Angel. "And here I thought the ballet was gonna be boring…"

He chuckled. "So…where—?"

"What are—?" Buffy began too.

They smiled. "How about we go back to my place and we can talk about where we go from here?"

Buffy swallowed hard and nodded.

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Later at the Hyperion:

Buffy hung up the phone. "Well, my Dad thinks I'm an even bigger freak than he did when I burned down Hemmery High, but what else is new?"

"Guess he didn't buy your 'my friend needed a ride home so that's why I left' story, huh?"

"Not a word of it." She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "But then again, he doesn't know what to make of me ever since my resurrection."

Angel came to stand behind her. He'd decided to ignore the Count's parting words. he'd made that mistake once when he'd listened to the Mayor. Hello? bad guys never told the truth. His hands took over rubbing her shoulders and neck. Buffy gave a long drawn out moan and let her chin tip forward, offering her neck to him. His eyes glowed and unable to stop himself he leaned down and nibbled at her scar.

Her breath caught. "Angel…" she groaned. "If you keep that up—I won't be responsible for my actions."

He chuckled against her flesh. "What are you going to do, Slayer? Drag me to bed and threaten me with a good time?"

Buffy looked over her shoulder at him and grinned. "Yeah, something like that, but I'm thinking handcuffs…" She brought her hands up around his neck, and curled her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. "Mmmm…" she purred, rubbing against him, lost in the visual she was creating, "I bet you'd look good in handcuffs."

He growled as her rear end rubbed against his hard on. "Like you'd really know what to do with a pair of handcuffs…" he teased, nipping at her neck.

Lulled by his hands and voice, and her own desire, Buffy answered without thinking. "Not true, Spike—" She froze and would have bitten her tongue off it could have un-said those words.

A wave of jealousy swept over him and his hands dropped away. "Thanks for the visual—didn't really need_ that_ in my head," he said, fists clenching as he fought the urge to hit something.

"Oh God," she breathed and turned to put her hand on his arm. "Angel, I'm—"

He flinched and backed away. "Don't—not right now."

"What do you want me to say?" she asked softly, looking sick. "I told you it was just something that happened."

"I know and I want to get past it, but it's just…why Spike? He—" Angel stopped and growled deep in his chest, "_Anyone_ would be better than _him_."

He was staring at her like she was day old rat blood, and Buffy avoided his accusing eyes. "Well, I guess I finally fell off that pedestal you put me on, huh?"

Images of her and Spike and a pair handcuffs slashed through his mind. He closed his eyes, willing them away. "Yeah, guess you did," he muttered.

Buffy's eyes flew to his. "Well, maybe you expect more from me than I can give."

He laughed, but it sounded hurt, bitter, even to his own ears. "I think you have that reversed."

Buffy recoiled as if he'd hit her. "That was a cheap shot." He looked guilty, but she didn't wait for his apology, she lashed out instead. "Okay, well since you wanna be a jerk about this, maybe I just have a thing for meaningless sex—or vampires, huh? Buffy needs some monster in her man, right? Isn't that what you think?"

He rolled his eyes. "That's bullshit and you know it. You loved me—that's the point. You don't do 'meaningless sex', Buffy. You have relationships. And you don't have a _'thing'_ for vampires. You had a_ 'thing'_ for me, so…" A muscle ticked in his jaw. "Why Spike?"

That took the wind out of her sails. She hugged her middle and paced. "I don't know, Angel. I know I don't love him, if that's what you're getting at..." She stopped and frowned at him. "I can't explain it and we already talked about it…I'm sorry I even brought it up. Can't we just let it go?"

He turned to her, eyes glowing brilliantly. "No, because we really didn't get to _talk_ about it. You blamed me because I left you—twice. Then we…" His throat felt tight and he tugged at his collar, yanking the bow tie off before he tossed it on the dresser. "Well…you know what happened and I forgot my name, much less what we were talking about, and there was the demons and…well, you get what I'm saying here…we never got to finish that conversation."

"But I told you why. I said—"

"You said you were with him because you felt nothing and I can relate to that." He scowled. "I fucking hate it, but I can relate…I've had my share of casual sex since I left Sunnydale, but—"

She stepped back, jaw hanging. "Y-you've what?" Buffy's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "How? I thought sex was a no-no for you."

He rolled his eyes. "Sex isn't love, Buffy. I lost my soul with you because I loved you, not because I had an orgasm."

Somehow that wasn't making her feel better. "And just_ how_ much 'casual' sex have you had since you left me for babies and sunshine, Angel?"

He scowled at the sarcasm in her voice. "Enough to know it isn't love."

Buffy gritted her teeth. "So let me get this straight—you're pissed at me for Spike, but you've been spreading it around this whole time?" She snorted. "Wow, aren't we the hypocrite?"

"Buffy, you're not 'casual sex' material. You care. You don't bed hop, even that loser Parker wasn't 'just sex' to you. You liked him."

Her mouth dropped. "H-how would you even know about that?"

"Well, let's see…" He cupped his jaw and tapped a finger on his bottom lip. "I think it was in between the Mozart and the hot pokers in my belly that Spike let it slip that you were…let me get this right… "jumping the bones of the first 'lunk-head' you'd come across" Yeah, that was it."

Buffy's eyes grew to the size of saucers, and then narrowed dangerously. "He told you that and tortured you when he came looking for the ring?"

He smirked and nodded. "Actually he didn't even have the stomach to torture me himself. Brought some other vamp with him—guy was pretty good too, except…" Angel chuckled. "He didn't know I'd invented half the things old Marcus tried using on me." He ignored Buffy's frown and said, "Guess the bleached wonder never told you that little story when you two were cuddling after sex, did he?"

Buffy frowned. "We didn't—I mean, we never—" She shrugged. "No, and Oz didn't tell me either," she snapped. Lucky for Spike he wasn't around--Buffy wanted to beat him into next week. She reached out to touch Angel's cheek. "I'm sorry. I never knew…"

He jerked away. "Doesn't matter, I got over the torture. That was easy, but hearing about you having sex with some asshole who'd used you was a hell of a lot harder to stomach…trust me."

Buffy sighed. Parker had been nothing more than a way to get over him. "Angel…you'd left. I was trying to not feel the pain anymore."

He sighed. "I know that, but you still liked him." He was quiet for a moment. "I saw you with him you know?" Buffy gaped and Angel shrugged. "You were at the Bronze. He was with another girl and I could see that hurt you." He clenched his fists. "Parker was a prick and he didn't deserve you, but I got why you were with him. What I don't get is Spike." He shook his head. "He's nothing but a muzzled monster. What were you thinking?"

Her head spun and pain raced through her as all she could think was he'd been in Sunnydale and hadn't bothered to see her. "You know what? I _so_ don't need you to beat me up any more…If you really cared you would have told me you were there and made me feel better with your visit!"

He shook his head. "That wouldn't have helped and you know it. It would have just hurt you more."

"Maybe, but at least I would have known you actually cared!" He reached for her, but she backed away. "No. You started this. Let me finish it." She smirked. "So…you wanna know what I was _really_ thinking about when I fucked Spike…?" His eyes narrowed and she laughed bitterly. "I was thinking about you—the coolness—he felt like _you_."

His eyes widened. "Buffy that's—"

"Sick? I know," she said. "Believe me. I know." She glared, fighting back the tears until she was safely out of there. "Well…I guess we're both just screwed up, huh?" she said and headed for the door.

He grabbed her arm. "Where the hell do you think you're going? We're not done here."

Buffy pulled away. "Yeah, we really are. I'm leaving—isn't that what you want, anyways? Why go through another gut wrenching Angel-Buffy moment?"

"Because I want to get to the bottom of all our crap," he growled. "I want you to understand you're not the only one who suffered when I left."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, _tons_ of _meaningless sex_…except for the Spike episode, I'm not really seeing your suffering!"

He grabbed her arm again, tighter this time and Buffy glanced at his hand, then back at him. "Let me go, Angel." He shook his head and she gritted her teeth. "If you wanna keep that hand, I suggest you get it off me."

He smirked and squeezed her arm harder in response. "You won't hurt me," he taunted, leaning down to nip at her neck. The thought of her and Spike was driving him and he felt jealous and reckless. "But, maybe I want to hurt you for a change."

In answer, Buffy yanked her arm away and backhanded him. "Ooops, did I do that?" she taunted. "Sorry, guess I'm reacting to your cave-man attitude."

Angel was stunned she'd actually hit him. He wiped at his lip and scowled at the blood there. "So you like it rough now, huh?" He rushed across the room and blocked the door. "Did Spike teach you that?"

"Angel…" she warned, but he grinned and advanced on her, growling softly.

His blood was racing and he felt more alive than he had in years. "Really, you should have told me earlier..." He winked and Buffy was shocked at how Angelus-like he was acting. "I have tricks Billy-Boy hasn't even heard of…" He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Much less mastered," he purred in her ear before he turned and slammed her against the wall.

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Downstairs:

Cordy rolled her eyes at the sounds coming from upstairs. "Great, did you hear that? They're either fighting or doing something way scarier." She glared at the room in general. "Hello? Did you hear me…? Someone needs to go up there." She waited and when no one volunteered, she jumped up. "Fine, I guess_ I'll_ have to do it."

The Seer glanced over her shoulder on her way up the stairs. "If you hear me yell, grab weapons…lots of them, and get your asses up here."

**Upstairs:**

Cordy bit her lip as she stood outside Angel's door. There was a crash, followed by Angel cursing. The Seer took a deep breath and banged on the door. "Okay, you two, what the hell's—" She bit back her words when the door was yanked open and Buffy stood in the doorway, breathing hard and looking none too happy to see her. The Slayer's blond hair tumbled around her shoulders in a riot of blond waves, her lip was split and her dress was torn…she looked like she'd been in a brawl.

"What?" Buffy snarled, raising a brow at her former nemesis. "Can't you see we're…talking?"

Cordy crossed her arms and attempted to stare the smaller woman down. "Right—talking. Care to explain the blood on your dress?"

Buffy glanced down, and grimaced at the sight of Angel's blood misted across her chest. "It was just a nose bleed," she said, just as Angel limped to the door, wiping at his nose and lip.

Angel looked even worse. Cordy tried to rush forward, but Buffy stepped in front of her. "Don't even think about it," she warned, putting her arm up across the doorway.

"What did you do to him, you bitch?" the brunette snapped. "Angel, are you okay?"

"He's fine." Buffy looked back at him. "Let her in here, and I'll mop the floor with her, I promise."

Angel glanced back and forth between them. He sighed. "We're fine, Cordy. Buffy and I just have a few things to…um…work out," he said and shut the door in the Seer's face.

Jaw hanging open, Cordelia heard them start to argue again. She heard Angel say something about Spike and then she heard Buffy scream at him about screwing around with Darla and those Fury chicks. A broad smile crossed her face. "Well, at least there won't be any 'perfect happiness' happening in there tonight."

Pleased with the state of the Buffy/Angel situation, but still pissed Angel had shut the door in her face, she stomped back down the stairs a few seconds later. "Well, we're safe," she said, rolling her eyes. "It's nothing more than the typical Buffy and Angel drama. First they talk out their differences…then they punch them out." She marched through the lobby and went behind the counter to her desk. "Whatever, I'm done." She picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder. "When Angel finally comes down, you can tell him until _she_ heads back to Sunny-Hell—I'm officially on vacation." She scowled. "I don't know what he sees in her anyways. She's so off the rack, I bet she thinks Jimmy Choo is a place to eat," she muttered as she grabbed her jacket and headed for the doors of the Hotel.

Wesley watched her gather her things, but stopped her from leaving. "Cordelia, what are you talking about?" he asked. "Are Buffy and Angel alright? It sounds rather…violent up there."

She shrugged. "Oh, they're fine. They're just…" She air quoted, "…talking." She paused. "For now, but if Angelus does show up…let Slay-gal up there take care of him. Angel chose to let her stay. It's his own fault if he goes all evil again."

Gunn shrugged as he leaned a hip against the couch where Fred sat. "Hey, Angel already got down and dirty with his ex-honey tonight…maybe you two are puttin' a bit too much on it when you talk about how bad they are together."

"Since I don't have the hours it would take to explain the 'freak show' that _is _Buffy and Angel…" Cordelia spat, shooting daggers at him. "Let me just say this…even though they're up there talking about Angel's chippies—until Buffy is gone, I'd make myself scarce if I were you, because where she goes…bad things follow, and Angelus is a very bad thing, especially since he has this nasty habit of going after anyone closest to Angel."

"Wouldn't that mean he'd go after Buffy first?" Fred asked. "I mean, since Angel cares about her the most, it'd just make sense that she'd be his—" She trailed off as Cordy rounded on her.

"Are you saying _she's_ more important to Angel than _me_?" the Seer screeched, hands on her hips. "Excuse me, but I seem to remember he went to another dimension to save _me_ while she died! I'm his—"

Just then the door opened and the Groosalog entered the hotel. "My Princess…" he said.

Cordy stopped mid tirade and plastered on a fake smile. "Groo, what are you doing here?" More sounds of scuffling, raised voices and then a crash upstairs and she frowned. "Now's really not a good time."

His strange eyes were puppy dog worshipful as he rushed across the lobby to her. "I came for you, my Princess."

Cordy kept the smile adhered to her face. "Well, that's just…great."

Gunn snickered and sat down next to Fred. "Looks like you got more to worry 'bout than Angel's love life, girl."

"Can we not say 'Angel' and 'love life' in the same breath? At least as far as Buffy is concerned," Wesley said, glaring at the bigger man.

Gunn shrugged and inconspicuously scooted closer to Fred. "Hey, all I'm sayin' is if this Angelus-cat hasn't come back yet, maybe he won't and you all should let Angel handle his own business with Buffy."

"That would be great if it wasn't us Angelus would be coming after!" Cordy snapped, dropping her happy pretense.

Groo frowned, his face a blend of ignorance and adoration. "Who is this Angelus you speak of, my Princess?" He took her hand and dropped to his knees. "If he has threatened you in any way…I shall go and slay him with my sword."

Loving the attention, Cordy preened. "You know what—let Angel have his freak show," she said, then she grabbed Groo's arm and dragged him to his feet. "Keep your sword sheathed—we're leaving," she said, looping her arm through his and pulling him along towards the front doors. "Like I said before, if Angel goes grrrr—let Buffy take care of it. If she breaks him—she can fix him." And then she left the hotel without a backward glance, dragging Groo along.

A small frown marred Fred's features as she watched Cordy leave. She turned to Gunn, "Is it me? Or did everyone find that…well, more than a little unfeeling?"

He shrugged. "She's like that. You'll get used to it."

Fred wrung her hands in her lap. "Um…okay, but do you think we should leave like she said or should we go on up there and make sure everything's alright?"

"After the way Cordy came down with her tail tucked?" Gunn shook his head. "Hell no, I ain't goin' up there. I'm thinkin' Buffy can take care of herself if Angel gets out of hand. Know what I mean?"

Wes glanced up the stairs as another loud crash came from Angel's room. "I think you're right. They do sound like they're rather in the middle of something. You two can do what you want, I'll wait here until we know for sure what is going on," he said, uncomfortable around them after seeing their kiss earlier.

"Are you sure you don't want us to hang out and just keep watch with ya?" Gunn asked, but it was obvious he wanted to go and be alone with Fred.

Wesley shook his head. "No, this may be a while. They have a lot of history. Cordelia was right about one thing though, if anything did happen, Buffy can handle Angelus. So please…just go," he added, heading for his office.

The door shut with a soft click and Fred glanced at Gunn. "Did he seem…" she shrugged, "I don't know…sad or something? You don't really think anything bad is going on up there, do you?"

"I'm gonna agree with Wes here. From what Angel said, Buffy's already spanked his alter ego's ass, so I'm thinking she'll be fine—him too." He moved closer to her. "Actually, I'm not really caring about Angel's love life at all right now. What I _do _care about was that kiss earlier." He cupped her cheek. "Was that just a 'you're hurt' kind of kiss or did you mean it?"

Fred blushed and looked away. "I…" She cleared her throat. "It was a Kyruption kind of thing."

He frowned and she pulled him closer. "I'm trying to tell you I meant it," she whispered, just before she kissed him again.

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**Upstairs:**

The room was a shambles. Chairs overturned, the coffee table was upended against the wall, its legs broken. The mirror above Angel's dresser was shattered, and the bookshelf lay on its side, books scattered across the floor. Ironically, the bed was the only thing that was still neat.

Angel punched Buffy in the head and she crashed through the glass doors and into his bedroom. She stayed on her feet, wiped the blood from her lip and chuckled. Her senses hummed and every nerve in her body tingled. She hadn't felt this good in…she couldn't remember when. "Looks like someone's channeling his inner Angelus, hmmm?" she quipped, raising a brow. "I kicked his ass. Let's see if your moves are better," she taunted, egging him on.

His eyes were drawn to the length of leg revealed by the slit in her dress, and they glowed golden as he scented her blood. Excitement surged through him making him even harder than he already was. "Baby, I have moves you've never seen," he said softly, stalking after her.

Her grin was deadly. "Bring it on, lover. Let's see what you've got."

He laughed. "Now who's channeling my demon?" She frowned and he took that moment to attack. She side-stepped his charge and landed a kick to the back of his leg. He growled as he fell to his knees, but bounced back to his feet in seconds. "Not bad," he said. Lust surged through his body, and he licked his lips as he advanced on her again. He'd never really let go like this with her. They'd sparred, but this was different—violent, thrilling, yet soothing in a way. Like therapy—demon style. "You've improved. Do you spar with _him_ too?"

Buffy smirked and taunted him further. "Sometimes, why are you jealous?"

His eyes narrowed. "Want the truth?"

"It'd be nice for a change," Buffy shot back.

"Yeah, I'm a whole lot of jealous," he growled and tackled her to the floor.

Buffy used her legs to fling him off and they stood facing each other, panting. He moved right and she went left, their moves choreographed by countless hours of sparring together. After trading a few more glancing blows, Buffy landed a powerful kick to the side of his head and he flew across the room to crash into the broken dresser. The lamp fell and shattered, and Angel spit out a mouthful of blood as his head swam.

She resisted the urge to rush to his side and see if he was okay. "Had enough?"

He didn't say anything as he slowly got to his feet. She grabbed her shoes and purse and headed for the door.

He grabbed her arm. "I know I should let you go, but I can't," he said and flung her onto the bed. In a blink of an eye he was on top of her. He pinned her arms above her head. "You smell so good," he growled against her neck, inhaling the intoxicating combination of sweat, blood and desire.

Buffy shivered as goose-bumps raced down her arms. "Angel!" she gasped, as she felt his erection against her belly. She halfheartedly tried to push him off. "Don't."

He purred and settled himself between her thighs. "I tell myself to walk away, but it's too hard." He thrust his hips forward. "I did it once and it nearly killed me." He unbuttoned his pants and groaned when his throbbing cock sprang free. "I'm not walking away anymore."

She moaned softly as he pushed her dress up to her waist. "Angel…we can't," she whispered. He ignored her and tore off her panties with a swift tug. "Oh, God!" she gasped as the weeping tip of his penis pressed and slid against her naked sex. She fought the throbbing ache between her legs. Their fight already had her blood racing, but this was like wildfire. She writhed under him, arching closer, even as her mind screamed 'run'. "Stop, think about the—oh, my God!" she cried, digging her nails into his shoulders as the head of his cock pushed into her. Her eyes closed. It was too good. "Mmmm…Angel," she sighed and gave into her need. She arched up to meet him, crying out as he entered her with one deep thrust.

He raised himself over her, grinding his hips against her. "Fuck," he cursed, eyes clenching shut as her wet heat engulfed his cock. "So hot—you burn me." He cupped her ass with one hand and angled her so he could get even deeper, then bent his head and tugged her dress down with his teeth. "I'd die a thousand times just to feel you like this…" he purred as his tongue swirled around the pebbled tip of her nipple.

Buffy squirmed. Her mind screeched 'danger', but her body cried out for his. "Angel, we have to…oh, God…stop," she whimpered as he took nearly her whole breast into his mouth and sucked hard.

He raised his head. His eyes were brown, but ringed in gold. His lips were swollen and wet, and his hair was messier than normal. Buffy's belly clenched. He looked like every wet dream she'd ever had about him.

"Why?" he asked. "Every time I think I might get too happy…I just picture Spike inside you—you'd be amazed how perfectly pissed off that makes me," he growled and lowered his head to her breasts once more.

"Get off me," she snapped and this time she tried to shove him away, but he gripped her hips tight and began to thrust in a deep, powerful rhythm. Pleasure eroded her will to resist.

His lips moved up her chest, to her neck, and Buffy shivered when he began to worry her scar with his teeth and tongue. "Angel, not like this," she moaned, but instead of pulling away, she tilted her head and wrapped her legs tighter around his waist, clinging to him as he set a furious pace. "OhGodohGodohGod," she chanted as he pistoned in and out of her. He bit down on her neck with blunt teeth, and Buffy shattered around him, screaming his name as she climaxed.

Angel groaned as her inner walls squeezed him to the point of pain, but her response to his bite spurred him to pound into her harder, until a sickening thought hit him and he froze. "Did he bite you?" he snarled softly, losing the tenuous control he had on his demon.

Buffy blinked heavy lidded eyes at him, still shuddering from her orgasm. "Huh?"

"Did-he-bite-you?" he growled, scraping his fangs along her scar.

"No." She pulled his head up and traced the ridges on his face. "No one but you has ever touched that spot—no one," she whispered and leaned up to kiss him. Her tongue slithered around his fangs and mated tenderly with his. "I wouldn't let them…it's yours," she whispered.

That snapped him back to reality. She still loved him—she always had, but did it matter anymore? "What am I doing?" His face shifted back to human and with a look of horror and guilt, he abruptly rolled off her.

Buffy whimpered at the sudden loss of him inside her. She reached for him. "Angel, I'm—"

He shrugged her off and threw an arm over his face, panting as he tried to get himself back under control. "Don't touch me right now and don't say you're sorry. I nearly drilled you into the mattress right now because I'm so crazy jealous." He winced as he maneuvered his rigid cock back into his boxers. "You can't forgive me for leaving—I can't stop picturing you with Spike. I think we've both gone beyond a simple 'I'm sorry', don't you?" he said, buttoning up his pants.

Buffy opened her mouth, but her reply was cut off by the sudden loud wail of a baby crying. Her eyes widened and she tilted her head to the side. "Was that…?"

Angel's eyes snapped open. "Connor," he whispered.

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_**Okay guys…this is the next to last chappie. I'm kind of sad to see this fic go because I think Buffy and Angel are really connecting to some real emotions here…I couldn't resist adding Cordy's "First they talk them out--then they punch them out." line because I think that's very Buffy/Angel. I also needed to have Angel react more jealously to Spike...I never liked that he seemed to get over it so easily...yes, he was with Darla, and in this..the Furies, but hello?? We can't forget Riley AND Parker. Buffy didn't wait long before Parker and she also told Angel she trusted Riley more than him, that always bugged me, and I will touch on that in the next chappie. Anyways, these are just issues I think they'd have to "deal" with to move forward. Also...in case anyone was going to mention it...I KNOW Buffy actually caught Parker with the other girl on campus, but it suited me better to say it was at the Bronze because I was saying Angel had seen it, okay? Okay.**_

_**Well...if you wouldn't mine...please feed the musie so she can 'inspire' me to maybe finish some of my other fics, eh?? :) ;) lol. Anyhow, the 'last' chappie will be up soon and I hope you all enjoyed this fic as much as I did. :) :) :)**_

**_xoxo_**

**_Jen_**


	7. Chapter 7

'**What really happened behind the Wings'**

**A fic by: Jen**

**Rating: M**

**Disclaimer: Joss owns them, but I love to fix his mistakes so I play with them. :)**

**A/N: Thank you to Amber for beta'ing (is that a word? lol) this chappie for me. You did it in record time and I want to thank you—you're awesome! Again…if you guys haven't checked out her "You're No Mr. Smith" A Buffy/Angelus fic—you're seriously missing out on a nummy treat filled with adventure, sex and lot's of violent good fun! Yeah baby—it's love…B/Aus style! :) Seriously all of Amber's fics are great. Her pen name is uskohkuchan so check her out.**

**Also, I need to send some shout outs to Helmi1 she has a new **_**amazing**_** fic to go along with her other two…check it out, though seriously, **_**anything**_** Jenni does is awesome! Bangelstheonlywaytogo is a great new writer I've just discovered…she's looking for a beta, so if anyone wants to volunteer, let her know. Thanks. Also…RegretfulXXobsessions is another new writer I've just found. Feedback is a musie's heroin so any reviews will inspire these gals. **

**Now…I'd like to gice a special "Pimp" to my bud, Vixangel. This girl is an amazing writer who I'm truly honored to write To Tame a Demon with. She has an awesome fic entitled Broken. I love it and would really like to read more…if she'd ever update it!! ;) lol! *Jen ducks when Vix throws things at her* And yeah…I can bitch at you for not updating—I have…well, at least on some. :) lol! Na-na-na-na-na-na! :P Anyhow, if you're one of the few who haven't read her work you should.**

**Okay…here are just to name a few of my "must read" authors: Jaymartinez, Frost600, Kay8abc, Esmerada007, MacKenzie Creations, ChynaFox, JennCVice, Brandi Rochon, Seeley'sangel and OyHumbug. All of these authors are truly fantastic. I can't say enough about them. If you haven't read their fics, you're missing out.**

**Now, to everyone who R&R's. I want to mention you all by name here…but that would be… well, argh!! And Jen is lazy…lol. Kidding. No, seriously, you know who you are and I'll be sending out my replies later tomorrow, so I'll contact you all personally then. You all know I'm an author who does reply and say thank you, but I want to say it here how much your feedback inspires me, so thank you very much. I hope you all enjoyed this fic as much as I did writing and I am honored with the amazing response it's gotten. Thank you…**

**xoxo**

**Jen**

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**Okay, enough of my drabble, on with the final chappie, right? This has been a blast you guys…now on with the show.**

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**Chappie 7**

**The Hyperion: Angel's bedroom.**

Angel leaped off the bed. "Hold on," he said, and hurried from the room.

Unable to resist, Buffy grabbed one of his shirts, and followed him. She pushed open the door to the adjoining room, and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Angel cuddling a tiny baby to his chest, rocking and cooing in the cutest 'baby-voice' she'd ever heard. It was one of the most bizarre, but beautiful things she'd ever seen. She must have made a sound, because Angel's head snapped up and he got that 'deer in the headlight' look that never failed to either annoy or melt her—depending on the situation.

He spotted her in the doorway and his eyes roamed over her, noting the addition to her wardrobe. "Hey," he said. "Nice shirt—it looks better on you than it does on me."

"I seriously doubt that, but thank you," she answered, flushing with pleasure. Her eyes went to the baby. "He's beautiful," she whispered, taking a tentative step forward.

"Yeah, he is," Angel whispered reverently. "Would you like to meet him?"

Buffy simply nodded and crossed the room to where Angel stood with his son.

"Hey little guy—I have someone here I want you to meet," he said in that same 'baby-voice'. "Connor, this is Buffy, she's…someone very special to Daddy." He glanced at Buffy and turned Connor so she could really see him.

She reached out to take Connor's tiny hand. "Nice to meet you, Connor," she whispered. The baby gurgled and wrapped his hand around her finger and tugged. Buffy smiled through her tears. "Oh God, Angel. He's—"

"I know, a miracle," he murmured. Buffy nodded, laughing when Connor squeezed her finger harder and began to wave it in his fist. Angel chuckled too. "He's hungry. I need to get him his bottle. You want to hold him while I get it ready?"

Buffy's eyes widened. "But, I—I've never—" She licked her lips nervously. "I've never held a baby, Angel."

Angel quirked a brow, and grinned, "Like **I** had any experience before Connor?"

That made her smile. "Um…no, guess not, huh?" She really did want to hold him. "Okay," she said. "Just show me what to do."

"It's easy. Here…you hold him like this," he said, showing her how. "You just need to keep a hand behind his head…and not drop him," he teased as he carefully handed his son into her arms.

Buffy was terrified she'd do just that, but she followed Angel's instructions, and cradled Connor's head with one hand as she wrapped her arm around his tiny body and cuddled him to her chest. "Oh my God," she whispered, staring down into his perfect little face. "Hello there, precious."

Connor grinned at her and a warm bubble of laughter burst forth from Buffy, causing Angel to stop and stare at the picture they made—the woman he loved and his son—it was almost perfect. The only thing that caused an ache in his heart was that it wasn't Buffy who'd given him Connor. It should have been her. Angel decided the Powers were definitely more than a bit twisted to have something so beautiful come from a union of him and Darla.

Buffy rocked him in her arms as her eyes roamed his features. She decided he had Angel's brow. "You're so handsome," she whispered down to him. He grabbed her finger again and gave her another sweet smile, and in less than the minute it had taken her to fall for Angel, Buffy fell in love with his son. "Oh brother—you're already a charmer already aren't you?" She leaned down and rubbed her nose against his. "Just like your daddy."

"I've never seen him take to anyone so fast," Angel said softly, unable to turn away.

Buffy glanced up. "Really?" She looked back down to the smiling baby. "He's seems like such a happy baby…" She continued rocking Connor like she'd been doing it for years instead of a minute.

"He is, but usually he gets fussy if it isn't me holding him."

"Well, he's definitely your son, then," she said. He raised a brow and she smirked. "You used to go all quiet-guy when I cuddled you, too."

He stared at her for a second before he laughed. "Um…okay…but that's so not the same thing."

She just gave him a cheeky grin and reminded him he had a bottle to fix.

Not wanting to miss a minute of Buffy with Connor, he rushed to get the bottle ready. He tested the temperature and frowned. It felt scalding, but then everything felt hot to him. He hated that he was never sure if it was too warm. He headed back to Connor's room, shaking the bottle. "Buffy, can you test this and see if it's—?" He skidded to a stop, stunned to find Buffy sitting in the rocking chair with Connor fast asleep in her arms. "How did you get him to do that?" he asked. "He never goes back to sleep without his bottle."

"I don't know," she whispered, afraid to wake him. "He just…kind of smiled at me and fell asleep."

Angel knelt down next to them. He set the bottle on the floor, and placed one hand on Connor's head while the other went around the back of Buffy's neck.

Buffy noticed the way his hand engulfed Connor's entire skull. "I always thought you had beautiful hands…" she whispered. "They're so big and strong, yet capable of such gentleness. I never felt safer than I did when you were holding me."

"Buffy," he whispered, rubbing his cheek against the top of her head. "Can we…start over?"

She tilted her face up, still holding Connor, and her smile lit up her face and Angel's heart. "Always," she assured him. "You were the one who wanted us to be apart."

He kissed her lips gently. "I know…" he said, wrapping both her and Connor in his arms. "I guess that proves age doesn't always bring wisdom, huh?"

She chuckled and snuggled closer to him. "Angel?"

"Mmm-hmm?" he answered.

"We still need to talk," she said. "And by talking I mean without the whole beating each other up part this time, okay?"

He kissed her temple. "I know. We'll make this work…I promise. We just need to work a few things out," he said and settled his chin on top of her head, content for the moment.

That was how Lorne found them. Lost in their own world, Buffy and Angel didn't even notice him, so the anagogic demon was able to observe them quietly. The feelings rolling off them were enough to send all his senses into hyper over-drive, and like a sledgehammer to the gut, he realized how ridiculously wrong he'd been about Cordelia and Angel. _This_ was Kyrumption. No doubt about it. He closed the door silently and crept away. "How could I have been so off?" he muttered to himself. "Talk about standing on the shore and fishing without a pole!" He headed for his room. "Must have had one too many Sea-Breezes the day I thought Angel and Cordy belonged together!"

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Later:

Connor was back in his crib and they sat side by side on his bed.

"So we…talk. We can do that, right?" Buffy said, twisting a ring on her finger.

Angel nodded. "I've been known to…talk…not a lot, but I'm capable of it," he said, then promptly shut up. The silence stretched and Angel looked away as the tension in the room grew.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Now's not the time to be 'Joe-quiet-guy' Angel."

He fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable. "Right talk. Okay." He motioned to her. "Ladies first."

"Oh no. _You're_ all 'major-damage-guy' tonight. You have things to get off your chest so let go…get it all off," she said, waving a hand in his direction. An all-too-male chuckle escaped his lips and she flushed to the roots of her hair. "I meant your wreckage…not your—" Vivid images of him naked swept through her mind and she fanned herself. "Okay, shutting up, now. You talk—I'll listen," she said, flustered.

His grin faded. "Sure you wouldn't rather just go a few more rounds and say it's settled?"

"I'm gonna take 'no' for four hundred, Alex," she quipped.

"Ahh, Jeopardy. Safe subject." He paused. "Did you know Alex Trebek is a demon?"

There was a mischievous twinkle in his eye and she raised a brow suspiciously. "You're kidding right?"

He giggled and Buffy's jaw dropped even further at the sound. "Yeah, but it's a good distraction, don't you think?"

Despite everything they'd gone through that night, Buffy felt a smile tug at her lips. Only Angel could take her on a roller coaster ride of emotions like this and still make her smile. "Again with the funny." She took his hand. "I like 'happy-Angel'." He frowned and she hurried to say, "I mean, not '_too_-happy-Angel', but 'making-with-the- funny-Angel'…I like him."

"I miss you," he said suddenly. "The way you say whatever you're thinking all the time, I missed that."

"Are you trying to tell me I can't control what comes out of my mouth?"

He shook his head. "Nooo…that would be Cordy. You definitely have more tact than she does." He saw her start to frown and brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. "It's not anything I can even put my finger on." He shrugged. "I guess I just miss…us."

"Okay, well that's a start. So where do we go from here? What's the mature plan?"

A sickening wave of déjà-vu made him feel slightly dizzy and he looked away as he realized there was still one _major_ thing he had to come clean about before they could even think of moving on. "I think we have to forgive each other and be honest…" He took a deep breath. "Speaking of honest…there something I have to tell you and please don't interrupt—just let me tell the story and then you can react, okay?"

"Why am I thinking I'm not going to like this story?"

"Because you probably aren't," he admitted. "You're going to be furious with me, but I—" He bit his tongue, keeping the 'I did it for your own good', behind his teeth. If he uttered those words she'd probably smack the taste out of his mouth before he even finished the sentence. "I made a decision that I should have asked you about, but didn't," he said finally.

"Now I _know_ I'm not going to like this," she said, crossing her arms.

He took her hands in his and uncrossed her arms. "Please just let me finish before you say anything."

Buffy's heart began to pound and she had to force herself not to fidget. "Just tell me, Angel."

And so he did…several times he had to forcibly restrain her, but he finally told her everything that had actually happened on her first trip to L.A.

"How could you?" she cried, wiping at her eyes. "We had everything we ever wanted and you just…gave it back!" He tried to take her in his arms, but she shook her head and pushed him away. She felt sick. "Don't. Not right now. Just let me…deal, okay?"

He sat quietly while she went out on the balcony. After a few minutes he could hear her crying and his own eyes watered too at the raw agony in those sobs. He put his head in his hands and resisted the urge to go to her, but she clearly needed her space from him right now and he respected that, so he stayed put. Finally she came back in. He raised his head and looked at her warily.

Her face looked blotchy, her eyes red and puffy and so green he got lost in them for a second. "I _so_ want to kick your ass right now," she said hoarsely.

That was better than 'I _am _going to kick your ass," so he nodded, he didn't blame her for feeling like that. "I know."

She stood there, twisting the ring on her finger until Angel was sure she was going to twist her finger off along with the ring. "If I didn't believe you did it with the best intentions…I would," she said softly. She tilted her head to the side and seemed to study him, and Angel somehow avoided squirming under her scrutiny. "I just don't get it," she said softly. "Why did you think the Powers would play fair, Angel—when have they ever where we're concerned?" She exhaled loudly as she came and sat next to him. "Look, I get why you did it. You did it to protect me, but the 'Mr. Protective-guy' thing you do is going to end here and now. It may work for your 'suffering-man of mystery-hero' image, but it doesn't work for me. I can't deal with you making decisions about us without talking to me first. Even if they are…" she air quoted, "…for my own good."

"Buffy…"

"No, let me finish."

"Sorry, okay…go ahead."

"I'm fully capable of taking care of myself. The Powers That Be don't take care of me, you get that, right?" He nodded. "Good, because the next time you decide to pull a 'General Custer' on me…I _am_ going to kick your ass…and if the Powers have a problem with that, they can just come down and stop me!" The tension eased from him a bit when she gave him a tiny smile. "But I'd only be doing it for your _own good_, of course."

He let out the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding, and laughed softly. "Of course."

She sighed. "Okay, any other skeletons you wanna drag out? Because, now's the time."

"You don't mean…like stuff I did as Angelus do you? I—you don't really want to hear—"

"Nooo…those are skeletons better left buried." He looked relieved until she shrugged and said, "Plus, I pretty much know everything that Angelus ever did anyways."

"How? I know what you went through in Sunnydale, but trust me…that was nothing compared to some of the things he's capable of."

"I know, I don't mean that," she said. "I stole a few of Giles' Watcher Diaries after you left and read anything they'd ever recorded about him. It wasn't the cliff-notes edition either." She shrugged. "Watcher Diaries—pretty graphic." He looked so horrified she took his hand and rubbed her thumb over his knuckles in a soothing manner. "It doesn't matter. It never changed the way I feel about you. If anything it made me understand Angelus better. He's a demon. It's just his nature. He only made it personal because _you _love me."

His jaw hung and in that instant, Angel had never loved her more. "How can you just forgive that?"

"I don't know…I guess the whole dying thing kinda makes you see the bigger picture." He got that broody look that always meant he was thinking too much and Buffy felt her stomach drop. "What?"

"It's just this dragging out skeletons—not sure if that's such a great idea. You're going to get angry or I will and…what if we can't forgive? What then?"

Buffy scooted closer to him. "We'll forgive each other because it's what you do when you love someone. Even though I was seriously pissed about what you did, I see the why of it and I can forgive you. But if we don't get it out—it'll always be there under the surface—like the boogey man under your bed. The only way you get rid of him is by turning on the lights." That seemed to click and he made an understanding 'mmmm', sound. "So let's get all_ those_ things out in the open because this is 'the' talk—anything and everything goes." She grinned at him. "Kind of like a mental yard sale. Once it's out on the curb…we don't bring it back in again, okay."

He sighed. "Alright. Well, I've already dragged my worst secret out—your turn."

She smirked. "Sorry, but Spike was my worst too. Your turn."

He frowned. "Is this only secrets we've kept or things you've done that bothered me?"

Buffy frowned, wondering what she'd done that had bothered him so much. "Well, to be fair I guess it should be both. We…um…talk about our problems. You know? Two mature people getting rid of their mental baggage. Then the healing begins." Her voice was positive, but he was still frowning and Buffy rolled her eyes. "It works in all those T.V. shows," she muttered.

He couldn't help but wonder if he and Buffy could actually do something that…normal. "Okay," he said, pushing aside his doubts. "I'll try." He was silent for a minute, before he snapped his fingers and said, "Alright, here's something that still eats at me. Why didn't you tell me the truth when you came back?" He narrowed his eyes. "You just went on and on about how death wasn't anything new to you—"same old same old—just another day for Buffy" is what you said, remember?"

Buffy was stunned he recalled that conversation word for word "I know what I said. I was resurrected, not lobotomized," she quipped. He scowled and she tried to explain. "How could I tell you what I was feeling? I was so weirded out and you seemed like your life really had purpose—I wanted you to think I was okay, so I—"

"Lied," he cut in, and Buffy gave a tiny nod. He ran a hand through his hair. "See that's another thing you do that drives me crazy." Warming to this kind of argument, he started pulling out the hurts he'd tucked away for so long. "I can't read your mind, and some of the things you say…I don't know if you're just saying them to hurt me or whether you mean it." His eyes were very dark, and she shivered at the pain there. "Like when you came to L.A. and told me Riley was your new love and that you trusted him—you didn't say it, but your meaning was clear. You loved him. You could trust him, but not me—that tore me apart. I was still picking up the phone, calling you every night and you were already in love."

That floored her. "Huh? You never—" She stopped and her eyes widened. "That was you? All those hang up calls? I thought it was some teenager prank calling me."

He was glad he couldn't blush. "Getting off point here…" he said gruffly, obviously embarrassed.

"Okay, let's get on point then." She smirked. "Let's see…" she said, tapping her chin. "When I showed up at your place, you were giving Faith a severe cuddle session." She cocked her head to the side and frowned. "And that was after she was trying to kill you…so how did you want me to react? Sorry, but seeing you giving 'Angel-hugs' to 'Psycho-Slayer' kinda threw me, so excuse me for losing my temper!"

His brow quirked, and he looked confused. "Angel-hugs?"

"Yes, Angel-hugs." Her brows drew down and her lower lip jutted. "They're those cuddles you used to give to me after a rough night of slaying." She sighed. "I lived for Angel-hugs and seeing her getting them after everything she'd done…" She shook her head. "It sucked."

That took some of the wind out of his sails. "I wasn't…cuddling. I was _'comforting'_…trying to save her soul, not seduce her."

She gritted her teeth. "Fine, maybe you weren't naked, but you_ were_ half dressed and you had your arms around her and it just made my mind snap. Do you have any idea what she'd already done to me?"

"Yeah, I do and I'm sorry, but—"

Buffy jumped up from the bed and began to pace. "But what? She tried to kill you, Angel—twice! She slept with Riley—the only thing she _didn't _do was screw you, and trust me when I say that's the _only_ reason I didn't beat her to death! Had I found her in bed with you...?" Her eyes blazed. "Nothing would have saved her—_nothing_!"

"I would have never slept with Faith. Not even if she _was _wearing a 'Buffy-suit'."

"How would you know? She was in _my_ body. Riley didn't know—how would you?"

"I'd know," he said confidently. Buffy gave him a puzzled frown and he just smiled. "Buffy, I've tasted you. I'd know you in a crowd of ten thousand women." He came to stand in front of her, took her shoulders in his hands and hunkered down so they were of the same height. "Faith may still have that 'Slayer' feel, but she isn't _you_. Her soul—her scent—everything, it may be Slayer, but it isn't you." He stood to his full height, but tilted her chin so she was still looking him in the eye. "I'd have known the difference in an instant."

All the fight left her with a rush. She'd always wondered—it was a relief to know she was right. "She probably knew that," she mused. "I always wondered why she never headed right here—if she really wanted to break me—sleeping with you would have hurt far worse than sleeping with Riley."

"Would it?" he asked. "You loved him—why would her sleeping with me hurt more?"

"You're joking, right?" He remained silent and Buffy rolled her eyes. "Angel, I never loved Riley the way I love you. He knew it—that's why he left." This was harder than she'd thought it would be and she glanced down at her feet, noticing the pink nail polish absently as she decided how to explain herself. "But you're right—I did say those things and I'm sorry. It was just…you'd taken away your love. I didn't have a choice there. The only thing I had left was to hurt you." She raised her eyes. "I didn't mean them—I never have."

He ignored the urge to just let it go. She said they were doing house cleaning—well he had a bit more baggage to get rid of. "But that wasn't the first time you did that to me. Do you remember after I was back and you came by the mansion and flaunted Scott in my face?" Buffy nodded mutely. "You broke up with me for that little—that boy. Told me he was someone you could _count_ on. Do you know how bad that hurt? It was a like a kick to the teeth to watch and…let's be honest, _constantly_ hear about someone else making you happy when I couldn't."

Buffy again stared at her feet. "Angel, I was so young and after everything that had happened between us, I wanted—"

"You wanted normal. I got that, Buffy. So why was it so surprising that I left?"

That stopped her for a minute. "But we'd already moved past that when you left. I was over the wanting normal—I wanted you. I told you that."

"That's not the entire truth, Buffy and you know that," he said softly. "Would you have come back to me, if he hadn't broken up with you?"

Buffy's jaw dropped. She hadn't been aware that he'd even known about that particular detail. "I—" She didn't know what to say. Suddenly she frowned. "Is that why you left…to punish me for Scott?"

"No." He shook his head. "I didn't leave to punish you. I left because I thought it was best for both of us. There was always the chance that one day you'd do something to either make me too happy, or…" He shrugged, "realize you really did want a normal guy and rip my guts out again. It was hard to exist like that, so I left."

It still hurt, but at least _that_ made some sense to her. It wasn't just because of her—he'd left for himself too. "What about now? Do you still feel like that?"

He sat back down on the bed and sighed. "No. I don't think you want normal anymore." He sounded tired and...sad. "I see a—"

"Darkness in me now," she said. "You do, don't you?"

"I was going to say emptiness, but yeah, I guess there is some darkness too. But, that makes sense after everything you've been through."

Buffy sat next to him on the bed. "You make the emptiness not so empty," she whispered, picking at her torn dress. She raised her eyes and regarded him with a frown. "Did you know I have a demon in me too?"

His eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

She nodded. "I went on this whole 'Slayer Vision-quest' thing when I was fighting Glory and I found out that the 'First Slayer' was actually created by injecting a demon into a young girl…" She ran a hand through her tangled hair. "So…kind of makes sense that you're really more 'normal' for me Angel than any regular-Joe, huh? I live in shadows too."

He didn't know what to say. "Yeah, actually it kind of does…" He was silent for a moment, before he spoke again. "Darla once told me that the Slayer was created from darkness and that was why she could track us so easily, but I never thought that meant a demon inside."

Buffy narrowed her eyes as jealousy swept over her. "Speaking of Darla—care to share how that happened now? I mean, I get that she was brought back by some Law firm, but _how_ did the sex happen?"

"It just happened—kind of like you and Spike. I was in a dark place and just wanted to feel something besides the cold."

Buffy couldn't say anything, except she could relate. "At least you got Connor out of it. All I got was a serious case of the guilts," she said, pouting.

He sighed. "Let's leave Spike and Darla where they belong—in the past. Obviously neither one of us is happy with our latest choice in partners, but I think we've beaten it to death, don't you?"

"Yeah, and then some." She took a deep breath. "O—kay," she said exhaling. "So we're past all that then. What next?"

He shrugged. "How about what happens now? Are you going to tell your friends you're seeing me again?"

She tilted her head to the side and studied him. "Still feeling insecure there, aren't you?"

"Not insecure as much as I think I might smack Xander now if one 'dead-boy' comment comes out of his mouth."

"Like he has any room to talk," she grumbled. "Did you know he's dating an ex-vengeance demon?"

"What?!" His eyes widened. "Not Anyanka?"

"Yep, the one and only."

"But she's killed thousands—maybe more. She was old when I was turned. Doesn't he see the hypocrisy there?"

"Nope, surprisingly he doesn't, but trust me…if he even raises an eyebrow, I'll remind him that the number of dead bodies aren't really in favor of his girlfriend, so he shouldn't live on his glass mountain and throw rocks—or something like that."

He laughed. "He who lives in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks…"

Buffy gave him an impish smile in return. "Yeah and that too."

He took her hand and brought it to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. "You know…and don't get mad here…but, I'm not sorry I left. I think we both needed to grow and if I'd stayed in Sunnydale we wouldn't have. I was your 'freak-show-creature of the night' boyfriend—something your friends barely tolerated. The guilt would have gotten to you and eventually you'd have left me."

She sighed, remembering how she had thrown herself into her relationship with Riley, convincing herself that he was what she wanted. "Maybe your right," she admitted. "And you _have_ changed—good changes. Mine…" She shrugged and looked down. "Not so much."

"That's not true," he denied, shaking his head. "You're the strongest, most amazing woman I've ever met. Not many people could be ripped out of Heaven and not go crazy." He kissed her hand again. "_That_ I _am_ sorry for. I should have been there for you when you came back. I can't imagine how hard it was for you."

Her mouth opened and closed several times as she gaped at him. "How…?" Buffy cleared her throat. "How did you know I'd been in Heaven? I never told you," she whispered hoarsely.

"Buffy, what are you talking about? Where else would you go?"

She looked away. "They all thought—"

He looked confused before it dawned on him and his eyes widened. "No." He shook his head as if he could deny such a concept. "They thought you'd gone to a hell dimension?" She didn't say anything, but her silence spoke volumes and Angel felt anger sweep through him. "Why?" A low growl rumbled in his belly. "What the hell were they thinking?" he asked, once again amazed at the stupidity of Buffy's so-called-friends.

"I don't know. Guess it was because Glory was from a hell dimension, but—"

"How could they think_ you'd_ go there, right?" She nodded sadly. He felt sick as he realized how alone she'd really been. He pulled her into his arms and she went willingly. "Oh Buffy, I'm sorry," he crooned. She clung to him and buried her head in his chest. A few minutes later he pulled back and smiled down at her. "We're really a pair, aren't we?"

An answering smile pulled her lips upward. "By pair, do you mean dysfunctional?"

He laughed softly and kissed her temple. "Well, considering you've died…twice and I'm the brooding guy in a corner with a blood habit and two hundred years of psychic baggage…I'm thinking dysfunctional is putting it mildly wouldn't you?"

"Two hundred and forty seven…" she corrected, smiling again.

"Great, now I _do_ feel like a dirty old man."

"Well if the shoe fits…" she teased. His frown turned into a scowl, and Buffy's laughter bubbled up and she hugged him. "You know I wasn't sure before, but now I'm so glad we had this talk."

He blinked at her, awed for a minute by her beauty. There were times over the last few years when he'd almost convinced himself Buffy wasn't as pretty as he remembered, but tonight made him realize she was more stunning than he'd ever allowed himself to recall. "I love your smile," he murmured. "It lights up your face. I used to get lost in it sometimes and that's when I didn't miss the sun…because it was right there—shining on your face."

Buffy flushed with pleasure. "Wow," she breathed. "Okay, 'poetic-Angel' needs a warning label attached."

Unconsciously, his shoulders straightened. She made him feel like a man—not a monster.

She took his hand. "So…any other little tidbits of our past we need to get out and beat around?"

He knew he had to tell her about the Prophecy. "There's just one more thing I need to tell you about and then I think I can say my closet is clean…"

He winced when she squeezed his hand—hard. "Is this going to send me back to the balcony crying?"

He shook his head. "No, so can you not break my hand?" Buffy immediately loosened her grip and apologized. Angel shook it off. "I was only kidding, baby," he said. He sighed again, trying to organize his thoughts. "Okay, Buffy—this is big, but I don't want you to get your hopes up too high when I tell you what it is, because it may never happen. That's why I haven't told you before today, but we said total honesty and—"

She felt the hairs stand up on her arms. "You're freaking me out now. Just tell me what it is, Angel." she interrupted.

"Okay," he said and told her about his possible 'Shanshu'. At first she just stared at him, then she berated him for not telling her sooner, that was right before she squealed and tackled him to the bed and proceeded to kiss him thoroughly. Angel gave a muffled 'oomph' as she pinned him, but all in all, he was thrilled with her reaction. It was much better than the ass-kicking he'd expected.

Several long, deep, wet kisses later, Buffy finally came up for air. "Mmmm, have I ever told you the advantages to having a boyfriend that doesn't need to breathe," she teased, licking her lips.

"So I take it you're happy?" She nodded. "That's good, but don't expect it to happen soon. I don't know if it'll ever happen to be honest."

"Having you become human would be great, but it's not like I'm not pining for it or anything…" She gave him a very naughty grin. "I kinda like the fangs if you wanna know the truth."

He went hard all over and a low growl rumbled in his belly. "Buffy…" he warned. "Talk like that will get you in trouble, baby."

"Angel," she whined. "Don't threaten me with a good time I can't have…" Her lower lip jutted out. "That's just…cruel."

He raised a brow. "Who says _you_ can't have a good time…? As you can see from this talking thing we've been doing tonight…my tongue works just fine," he purred and rolled her under him.

Buffy let her thighs fall open as he settled himself between them. She lifted her hips as he slid her panties down her legs, and made a strangled sound of embarrassment when he brought them to his nose and inhaled. "Oh God," she breathed. He winked and tossed them over his shoulder. She closed her eyes, and just allowed herself to _feel_. The smooth glide of Angel's hand as it slid up her thigh made her shiver. His breath as it huffed against her naked sex made her pant. With her eyes closed everything was so sensual—no visual, just the hyper senses. She waited, anticipating the first touch of his tongue and when it didn't come, she squirmed. "Angel?"

"Keep your eyes closed," he whispered, barely touching her flesh.

"O-okay. Hurry…please," she begged softly, shuddering as his lips brushed the swollen lips of her labia.

He waited until she was writhing under him, making sure she kept her eyes closed. "Good girl," he said, breathing in her fragrance. The only scent on her now was his, and his growl was definitely possessive as he dipped his head to taste her.

The shock of his tongue sliding along her hot flesh almost made Buffy come off the bed. Only Angel's hand on her belly kept her where she was. "Oh-oh…Angel!" she cried, bucking her hips against that talented mouth. It was almost too good and she gripped his head and pressed him closer as she begged for the release she knew he could give her. Yes, it definitely paid to have a boyfriend with over two hundred years of sexual experience who didn't need to breathe.

**Later:**

As she rounded her fourth orgasm, Buffy was wondering if anyone had ever actually died from too many orgasms! Angel was a relentless, generous lover, and his skillful hands and mouth had already brought her to heights she'd never dreamed of, but this was becoming too much. "Oh God!" she grunted, barely recognizing her voice—it was so hoarse, she sounded like she'd smoked five packs of cigarettes a day. "Angel, I can't…" she panted, "I really—Oh please…" she cried, twisting away from his mouth as another wave of unbelievable ecstasy swept her away.

He blew on her swollen clit softly, waiting until she'd calmed a bit before he raised his head and smirked. "Having a good time yet, love?"

Panting and limp, Buffy swept her hair out of her eyes and dragged open her eyes to stare down at him in shock. His lips and chin glistened with her juices and she blushed. Her body felt like one raw nerve ending and even her toes were tingling. "Seriously? You really need to ask?"

He chuckled softly. "No, I felt you come around my tongue," he said, licking his lips with a loud smack. "So…you ready to admit it now…?" he asked as he slithered up her body and placed a wet kiss on her neck. Buffy shivered and he nipped at the sensitive flesh there. "Come on…you know you want to…" he purred into her ear, causing her to shiver again.

She tried to wriggle away from him, but he held her tight. "Fine," she said, squealing with laughter when he began to nibble at her ear. "I admit it. There are definitely some things you can do with your tongue that's way better than talking…happy now?" she asked, still giggling softly.

"Very," he replied and she raised a brow. "But not perfectly, so don't scowl at me." He curled his big body behind hers, spooning her. "Stay with me tonight," he asked, sliding a hand down to palm her belly as he cuddled her closer.

"Mmm, okay…wasn't planning on going anywhere…too tired," she murmured, snuggling into his arms and the pillow beneath her head. She wasn't in any shape to do anything more than sleep. She was exhausted. Mentally and physically—it's amazing how tired you could get from a heart to heart and four sensational orgasms.

A soft purr that rumbled against her back was her answer.

"Mmmmm…Do that again. I definitely missed that. Your purrs…sexy and comforting…"

"Really? Comforting?" he asked, yawning. She nodded tiredly and wrapped her hands around his and cradled it under her heart. She snuggled deeper into his arms and Angel noticed the way she seemed to be holding him to her. He tucked her under his chin and let loose his contentment. Buffy smiled softly as the rumbling got louder and louder until it was like she was cuddled up with a big cat. His purr was so soothing.

Within moments they were both sound asleep...

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The next evening:

Buffy and Angel lay side by side on the bed, Connor was between them and Angel's arm was slung over Buffy's waist as she fed his son. Earlier in the day, she'd changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top Fred had leant her, and now his hand was making slow lazy circles on her lower back where the top rode up. She smiled at Angel over Connor's head as he gulped down the second bottle she'd made for him. "Does he always eat like this?" she whispered, tilting the bottle a bit more so that Connor didn't get any air while feeding.

"Well, he's had a pretty full day of playing since _someone_ hasn't put him down for more than a minute or two."

She grinned. "I don't remember you complaining, especially when you made us pose for like…a hundred portraits!"

He rolled his eyes at her exaggeration. "I _asked_ you to pose for two sketches…and I don't remember _you_ complaining when I gave you one of them," he teased back.

She blinked rapidly, as her eyes suddenly filled with tears. "I don't want to go home," she blurted out.

His arm tightened around her and he pulled her closer, careful to not disturb Connor. "Then don't. I don't remember kicking you out."

She sighed. "I have to though, right? The whole 'Slayer protector of the Hell-mouth' gig isn't just going to take care of itself." He nodded, and she saw the sadness in his eyes.

He leaned forward and kissed her gently. "We don't have a quick solution right now, Buffy, so let's just let it be what it is."

She sighed. "I know, but I just want to skip ahead to the part where we get to make with the happy."

He laughed. "Didn't I already do that a few hours ago? Several times as a matter of fact…"

She blushed. "Sssh…not in front of Connor."

"He's asleep," he whispered back.

Buffy looked down. Connor's cupid-bow mouth was slack around the nipple of the bottle and he was smiling in his sleep, she gently pulled the bottle from his mouth and set it on the nightstand next to the bed. "Do I need to burp him or anything?"

"You did it before we laid him down with us, right?" She nodded. "Then no, he hasn't had that much since then. He'll be fine," he said and went to scoop Connor up in his arms.

Buffy felt her heart-strings tug sharply at the thought of leaving this precious baby. "Angel, wait," she said. He stopped, Connor in his big hands. "I—can I hold him…one last time before I go home?"

He felt his throat choke up and simply nodded before he handed her the baby. Buffy took him easily now. She made little cooing sounds as she carried him into his room. Angel followed his heart swelling with love as he watched her with his son. She bent over to place Connor in his crib, and he couldn't help but admire the view of her rear-end in Fred's jeans. Where Fred was thin, Buffy was curvy and she filled out those jeans to the point of distraction as far as Angel was concerned.

He whistled softly. "Keep that position any longer and I'm going to forget Connor is sleeping right there," he teased.

Buffy stood up and looked over her shoulder at him. She winked and gave him a naughty grin. "Don't threaten me with a good time, buddy."

He growled, and Buffy giggled as she raced past him and back to his room. They stood there for a moment, then their smiles faded as they realized this was the moment they'd both been dreading.

"Well, I—"

"Buffy, I—"

They smiled. "Some things never change," he said.

She felt her lip start to quiver and blinked rapidly as tears started to fill her eyes. She swallowed. "Angel…" Her voice was husky, raw sounding, so she cleared her throat, took a deep breath and tried again. "Angel, I don't want to go home," she said again, as her breathing hitched and the tears she was desperately trying to keep at bay came forth. Her chest heaved, and she crumpled onto the bed. "I hate this 'duty-thing'," she said, putting her head in her hands. "I just want to be happy for a change. Why is that too much to ask for?" she asked, crying openly now.

"Buffy…baby, don't do this…" he whispered, sitting next to her. He pulled her onto his lap and rocked her like he would Connor. He didn't say anything else, just held her, and crooned soothing noises into her hair as he placed gentle kisses along her brow. When her sobs settled into sporadic, heaving sniffles, he brushed her hair back from her face gently. "Better?" he asked.

She nodded. "Kinda," she answered in a small voice. "Sorry, can you excuse Buffy's little melt-down?"

"I'm used to it," he teased, then kissed her.

She kissed him back, almost desperately. Groaning with rising lust, he pulled away first, but she clung to him and he didn't have the strength to resist, so he kissed her again. Their kiss was urgent, needy, and all too quickly passionate. This time Buffy pulled back, gasping. "We'll make this work, won't we?" she asked breathlessly. "Promise me we'll make it work this time." He nodded, but she needed more than that. "I mean it, Angel—don't you dare pull a one-eighty on me or I swear I'll hunt you down and hurt you—and not in the good way, either."

Her comment broke the tense moment of rising lust and he chuckled. "This isn't good-bye, Buffy. It's 'let's get to know each other again'."

She nodded, before she gave a long drawn out sigh and climbed off his lap. "Okay…well…I better…"

"Remove the temptation," he said, standing up and unconsciously echoing another conversation with her.

"I was going to say clean up, but okay…guess that works too."

Later:

They stood by the doors of the Hyperion. "I gotta…you know…" she said and motioned to the door.

"Yeah," he said softly, still holding her.

"Angel," she whimpered, and clung to him for a few minutes. He hugged her back just as tight. She leaned up on her tip-toes and he lowered his head and they kissed. It was filled with the bittersweet regret that she was leaving. She reached up and ran her thumb along his lip. "I'll call you tonight, okay?"

He nipped at her thumb. "I'll be waiting." She turned to go and he grabbed her before she could leave. He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers as his arms slid around her waist. "I'll miss you," he whispered and kissed her again.

"Me too." They stayed like that just holding each other until Buffy finally pulled away. "Well…I better…"

"I know," he sighed.

She paused at the door. "Angel?" she said his name as a question like she always did.

"Yeah?" he replied, trying to keep it together until she was out the door.

"I love you," she said.

"Buffy…" he groaned. She was making this harder. "I love you, too," he said softly, hoping he didn't fall apart in front of her.

She felt the sadness around him and didn't want to leave like that, so without giving it any thought—lest she chicken out, Buffy lifted her top and flashed him. It was so out of character for her, his jaw dropped. She fell into a fit of giggles at the stunned, yet totally aroused look on his face. "Just so you don't forget what you're fighting for…" she said with a cheeky grin before she breezed out of the hotel with a promise to 'explore the fine art of phone sex' later that night.

He watched her until he couldn't see her anymore, and then turned away from the door with a smile. She was something that was for sure. He thought back to when he'd met Whistler all those years ago, and marveled at how he'd almost turned the badly dressed demon down when he'd asked him if he wanted to make something of his life. It was only after he'd seen Buffy that he'd agreed to the plan. He'd had a feeling the petite blond was going to change his life, but he'd had no idea how much.

Yeah, they'd been through some bad times, and probably still would—they were both stubborn and strong willed, but whatever happened—being with Buffy was the one thing, besides Connor, that he couldn't and wouldn't regret. She simply made his un-life worth living.

He walked into Wesley's office and picked up the phone. "Lorne," he said when the line was answered. "Who do you know that specializes in curses…specifically Gypsy ones…"

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The End

**Final note: I debated on adding an epilogue to this. I thought I'd leave it up to you, the readers. If you want to read MY version of how they ended up…let me know and I'll post the epilogue. Some of you might like to just leave it to your imaginations. I'll go with majority rules. Tell me in your reviews: To have an epilogue or not have an epilogue…that is the question. ;)**

**Now feed musie so she'll feed me. :)**


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